


Home With You

by Chani_Moon



Category: GOT7, Kpop - Fandom, 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Angst, Drama, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Hurt and comfort, Mentions of Death, Mentions of past abuse, Side hobi|jb if you squint really hard, Tags Are Hard, enemies to lovers-kind of?, for how cute this is its also really sad like idk what i did here, maybe some smut, mentions of past rape, overall sad stuff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-11
Updated: 2018-05-30
Packaged: 2019-05-05 12:58:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 25,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14619102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chani_Moon/pseuds/Chani_Moon
Summary: She'd been good. She'd been fine. She'd finally gotten her life back in order, but the universe just really loves to screw with people like Nam Hyorin.





	1. One

“Nam Hyorin and Kim Taehyung.” The professor’s voice rang out loud and clear, and I wanted to crush his windpipe with my bare hands when I felt the stares aimed at me.

“Hello, partner.” The oddly deep and overly obnoxious voice sounded next to me and it took every ounce of self-control I had to not headbutt the assbag.

“Choke on a dick, Kim Taehyung.” I hissed out the words, still staring at the worksheet in front of me. I was pretty positive that one look at his face would tempt my fist far too much.

“Is there a problem, Nam Hyorin?” I visibly winced when the professor called me out and I shook my head slowly, still not lifting it whatsoever. “Then keep the comments to a minimum.” His voice was stern, something that I still wasn’t very used to since none of my other professor’s were arrogant pricks, but I gave a quick nod and a mumbled apology. “Now, you have exactly four weeks to do this project. Every time a week goes by and I don’t see visible progress you’ll be docked points.” The entire class groaned, and I joined right in. “It shouldn’t be too hard for you lot, you bunch of nerds.” He tried to throw in a joke, but there was only a handful of nervous laughs around the room. “Your first project check will be at the end of next week. Class dismissed.” 

I was out of my chair and into the hallway faster than I could even think. What luck. What fucking luck. Why did it have to be _him_ of all people?! I would even be fine with that quiet kid who eats erasers! Anyone but Kim Taehyung. “Something happened. What happened?” A hand latched onto my arm, following the voice, and I whipped around to stare my best friend in the face. He towered over me, but there was still a hint of fear in his eyes when he noticed the murder in mine. “Let me guess. Tae?” I grimaced at the use of the nickname. I honestly didn’t know how they were still friends after Freshman year. It was ridiculous. 

“Partnered in Ancient Mythology.” I grumbled the words, my bottom lip sticking out in a slight pout. “Why does my luck have to be so shitty, Joonie?” I pouted the words up at him, my demeanor changing almost instantly. I think that’s why most people stayed away from me, actually. The fact that my mood could change with the drop of a hat, but it was already known that I was _not_ bipolar after an incident shortly after freshman year started. Slightly homicidal, maybe, but not bipolar. 

The male simply sighed and flung an arm around my shoulder, steering me towards the door that lead to the quad. “I don’t think it’s shitty luck. Maybe this is the Universe's way of getting you two on friendly terms again.” His voice was extremely thoughtful, but they made me stop in my tracks. 

“Seriously? Friends? With that trash bag? No fucking thank you, I’ll pass.” I snorted loudly before I started walking again on my own. Namjoon quickly caught up to me, his arm going around my shoulder once more. I knew from previous conversations on this topic that he was giving me his signature look. “That train left the station a long time ago, Joonie. You know that.” My voice dropped a bit, but I shook off the negative feelings as we reached the small grove of vibrant trees in the very center of the courtyard. 

“Joon! Rin! Over here!” At the shout of my name, my smile returned, and I shoved Namjoon away to dive towards the cherry tree, pouncing on my other best friend.

“Minnie! My life is over!” I cried out dramatically as I rolled off of him, landing on my back with an arm flung over my face. I couldn’t see anything, but obviously he gave Namjoon a look, because the boy clarified without hesitation.

“She got paired up with Tae in their Mythology class.” He said it like it was the most natural thing on the planet. Stupid Joonie. Me being paired up with the scum of the Earth was _far_ from natural. Professor Min was an abomination for pairing the two of us up. I knew the man hated me, he had since day one, but I didn’t think he would ever go _that_ far. It wasn’t as if he didn’t know about my hatred for the little rat. _Everyone_ knew. I wasn’t trying to hide it.

“Seriously? That’s it?” My friend’s voice was exasperated, and I sat straight up, staring him directly into his eyes as I glared.

“Yah! Park Jimin! This is a serious issue!” I groaned out the last words before I flopped back down, whining about my pathetically horrible life. “I hope you guys have money to bail me out of jail. I might just murder him right in his stupid face.” I let out another groan before scrubbing my hands over my face, trying to figure out just how I was going to survive an entire month with Satan. 

“There you are, _partner_. I was wondering where you’d went.” Speak of the devil. I groaned again and clung to Jimin’s leg, trying to hide myself within my friend’s flesh. “Not excited about the matchup? You wound me, Rin.” Oh. Fuck. No.

I shot up from my position on the ground, glaring daggers at the violet haired boy that had just sat down with Namjoon. “No. You don’t get to call me that. You lost that right a long fucking time ago, Kim Taehyung.” My voice was low, and almost didn’t seem angry. Maybe that’s why Jimin slowly backed away and Namjoon tensed, prepared to pounce and intervene if he absolutely had to. 

I could see the fear in his eyes, but he didn’t act phased. Arrogant prick. “Will you get over yourself so we can take five minutes to talk about this project?” I don’t care how dejected he sounded, he wasn’t going to win. Ever. Fuck that little dude. 

“Fine. Let me see your worksheet.” My voice was still dangerously low, but he grabbed the sheet out of the bag and held it out to me. I snatched it right away and stuffed it in my notebook before standing up. I couldn’t stand to breathe the same air as him. “There. Now you don’t have anything to worry about. I’ll do it myself. Have a nice day, dick wad.” And with a cheery wiggle of my fingers I was off. I ignored my friends as they called after me, and the burning sensation of a glare on my back. I couldn’t handle any of this right now. It was just too much to deal with without caffeine in my hand.

“Awe. Look at this, guys. Someone’s got the little girl mad again.” I stopped in my tracks, whipping my head around to glare at the owner of the voice. Of. Fucking. Course. Honestly, could my day get any worse?

“Oh get off your high horse will ya, Yoongi? I’m not in the mood to deal with your shit.” His two lackeys backed down, but the orange haired asshole held his ground. 

“What did you just say to me?” 

“Oh I think you heard me loud and clear. Unless you’re deaf as well as stupid. Now kindly fuck off.” I turned to walk away again, but was caught by a hand on my arm. Are you fucking kidding me right now? 

“You’d better watch your mouth when you’re talking to me, little girl.” His words were sneered into my ear, and I could practically feel my blood boiling.

“And you’d better get your damn hands off of me before I do something I’ll regret.” Apparently what I said was hilarious, because he started laughing loudly and obnoxiously in my ear, and even tightened his grip on my arm. Okay. That was fucking it. I’d had enough of the little bastard. I yanked my arm as hard as I could, and he went down. I heard his face connect with the sidewalk, and all I could do was glare as I rubbed the sore spot on my arm. “Are you fucking done now? Grow the fuck up, Min Yoongi. The next time you put a hand on me unprovoked, or any other female at that, you’ll get a lot worse than a face full of cement.”

I stomped away, having no time to listen to his bullshit. I was so sick of the day already. All I wanted to do was sit in my apartment and angrily make cupcakes and chug coffee. 

Thankfully there were no more distractions on my walk home. No one bothered me. No one even stopped to hand me a flier. Maybe it was the way I walked, or the look of pure murder in my eyes, but most everyone left me alone. Even the maintenance man of the building kept his distance as I passed him on the stairs and slammed my way into my apartment.

When the door was shut behind me I was finally able to relax a bit. I tossed my bag onto the couch, kicked off my shoes, and took comfort in the solitude of my kitchen, where I finally began angrily making the cupcakes I’d been craving for hours. Honestly I don’t know how I put up Namjoon and Jimin still being friends with that little fuck bag. After what he did, how could they possibly have it in them to forgive him? My anger only grew as my phone blew up, barely staying silent for a second. I knew it was one or both of them, trying to get me to ‘come to my senses and give up’ as they usually did. I just didn’t understand. My mixing grew more and more furious each time my phone went off, until I found the bowl flying onto the tiled floor.

A floodgate opened in my head, and I wound up on my knees, crying over a bowl of spilled cupcake batter. I was just so damned stressed out. First I got paired with my worst fucking nightmare, then Yoongi and his bullshit, and my friends thinking I’m childish for holding a grudge. It was just too damned much. 

“Yah...Nam Hyorin? Is everything okay? I heard noises.” My head snapped up at the knock on my door, and I hastily wiped at my eyes to rid them of the tears before I stood. I shuffled over to the door, swiping at my cheeks one last time before I opened it. A tall male stood in the hallway, his hands awkwardly stuffed in his pockets. As soon as he saw me, his gaze turned concerned, but I slapped a smile onto my face before he could ask any questions.

“I’m sorry if you were disturbed, Seokjin hyung. I just dropped a bowl. Nothing to worry about.” I rubbed at the back of my neck nervously, hoping that my tears were successfully covered up. People seeing me at my weakest was something I never wanted to go through again. It caused too many complications, and Seokjin dealt with it enough. 

“I wasn’t disturbed in the slightest, Hyorin-ah. Just worried, is all.” Even though his smile was sweet, it seemed like he could see through my false cheer. “Would you like some company for a while? It seems like you’ve had a rough day.” His smile softened just a bit as he looked at me, and for some reason I felt small. It was almost as if he could see into my head. Like he knew exactly what I needed.

“You know what? I think some company would be nice.” I took a step back, allowing the male into my apartment before I moved towards the batter I’d spilled just before. 

“Here. I’ll clean this up for you. I’m sure you have homework to do.” Our relationship was just a bit strange. We had met just a few days after I’d moved in my first year, and he had quickly developed this Hyorin-Sense that caused him to come over every time I was distressed. He came over to cook for me often when he knew I had late classes. He even had a key to my apartment since he walked my dog while I was in class. That didn’t make his offer any less strange, though. 

“You really don’t have to do that. My work can wait for an hour or two.” I tried to join him in the kitchen, but he waved me off with a shake of his head.

“No no. Get your homework done, young lady.” He gave me a playful smile, and I couldn’t help but chuckle in return. Fine. If he wanted to be that way, I would just have to compromise. I ended up grabbing my bag from the couch, bringing it to the kitchen counter. I set it on the stool next to me as I climbed onto my own. “Stubborn girl.” He teased me again, and I naturally stuck my tongue out at him, as if we’d been friends since birth.

Almost as soon as I settled in I heard the clicking of nails on hardwood, and knew I wouldn’t be getting much work done, after all. “Hey, Moo. Did you hear mommy?” Much to my surprise, the tiny black and white Pomeranian bi-passed me, heading straight for Seokjin. “You little traitor.” The older man just laughed as he finished cleaning up my mess while trying to keep the dog from eating it. “You have your own food, fattie. You don’t need cupcake batter.” I grumbled at the tiny animal before I sat back down on the stool. Since Moo was obviously satisfied with winding through Seokjin’s legs instead of spending time with his own mother, I decided on actually doing my homework like the older male suggested.

I had just finished a brief session of research when Jin’s phone brought me back to the real world. I had no idea how much time had passed, but the island was cleaned up, and the male in question was on the floor with my dog. “Hey, you’re early. Seriously? You really need to remember your keys before you leave the apartment. I’m not even home. I’m next door. I don’t- You can’t just-Yah!” From what I could tell, the person on the other line had hung up, and there was an obnoxiously loud knock on my door. “Hyorin-ah I’m so sorry. It’s my step-brother. He’s kind of...Well..He’s a bit of an ass sometimes if I’m to be completely honest, but he’s a good kid I swear. He locked himself out.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at the poor guy. He was a full year older than me, almost 27 compared to my almost 26, but he looked so small and confused right then. “It’s fine, hyung.” I stood from the stool, cracking my back before walking towards the persistent knocking. I almost wish that I would have made Seokjin get up instead of me. As soon as I opened the door my eyes narrowed and I slammed it again, whipping my head around to the man on my floor. “I hate you.” Now the poor guy looked even more confused before I rolled my eyes, opening the door once again before stepping aside. “If you touch anything besides your brother and a chair I will actually murder you.” I grumbled before I moved back to my homework, actually allowing Min Yoongi into my house. 

Seokjin had that ‘I’m missing something’ look on his face, but he was smart. I figured he would eventually put two and two together. He didn’t question us knowing each other at all, but he did shoot up from the floor, effectively scaring my dog into the bedroom. “Min Yoongi! What on Earth happened to your face?!” His worried screech made me cringe, but when I glanced over I couldn’t help but feel a little pride when I noted the scrape and small bruise on the dickwad’s face.

“Oh yeah. That was me. Hi.” I wiggled my fingers with a grin at Seokjin before my eyes narrowed on the orange haired bastard. Here I was, thinking that I was finally going to have a relaxing evening, but no. Of course not. The universe wasn’t that kind to me. With neither of them saying anything I felt the room heating up a little bit. It hadn’t even dawned on me that I was still wearing my jacket, so I removed the article of clothing, draping it over my stool. Apparently that was just the catalyst needed to start ‘conversation’. 

“Min Yoongi. If that bruise was from you so help me God-.” He never finished his sentence, because he was too drawn to the apparent bruise on my arm. I looked down, myself, actually quite shocked to see the dark purple hand print wrapped around my arm. My eyes nervously darted to Yoongi, who looked like a kicked puppy. I won’t lie, I felt a little bad for the guy. Who even knew if he was really trying to hurt me or not? Maybe he’d had a bad day, just like I had, because even though he was the epitome of asshole, I’d never known him to ever hurt a female. Unless it was me, and I always started the stupid fights.

“It wasn’t him, hyung. Don’t worry. We just don’t really get along too well, is all.” I tried to give him my best smile, hoping the older male would just accept my answer and be done with the whole thing. Thankfully, Seokjin seemed to accept, and ruffled Yoongi’s hair.

“Sorry, kid. I didn’t mean to blame you like that. I just assumed when she slammed the door in your face.” He didn’t give Yoongi time to reply, turning to me instead. “Can I use your first aid kit? Or I can just take him back home if you don’t feel comfortable with him here.” I was honestly glad for Seokjin’s worry. I hadn’t felt so comfortable around someone since my big brother died, and this guy just seemed to fill that empty space I’d been suffering with, even if I still couldn’t bring myself to call him ‘oppa’ just yet. 

“It’s fine, hyung.” I assured him with a nod, waving him towards the bathroom while I picked up my pencil, hoping to get started on my school work again. I really just wanted to get this stupid project done and over with so I didn’t have to think about it or that piece of shit Kim Taehyung ever again. Did the universe let me focus, though? No. No of course not, because the universe was being particularly douchey today.

“You didn’t have to do that.” I was actually quite surprised that he was able to speak to me without calling me a little girl, but I shrugged it off, turning back towards the work sheet I was determined to get done in one sitting.

“It’s not my place to start a fight between siblings. It doesn’t hurt, anyways.” I added the words almost as an afterthought as I scribbled down one of the answers, before starting a new paragraph in the report to elaborate. It grew silent, again. Save for Moo pacing down the hallway as he waited for Seokjin to come out of the bathroom. Yoongi was still standing awkwardly in the middle of my kitchen, and I heaved out a sigh. “You can sit, you know. I promise I’ll try to be decent. Your brother is a good guy, and I don’t want him biting my head off for being the little shit that I am.” I swore that I saw his lips twitch in a smirk before he joined me at the kitchen counter. I had to move my bag for him, but I was actually quite surprised that he pulled out his own school books. If I was to be completely honest, I always thought he paid someone to do it for him.

“Yah. Nam Hyorin. You’ve got some explaining to do.” Jin’s angry voice caused my head to snap up again, and my eyes went wide when I saw what he held on top of my first aid kit. “Would you like to tell me why this hasn’t been touched since Tuesday?” I winced a bit, tearing my gaze away from the pill container in his hand. Of course he would worry about that, he was the one who’d bought the damn thing for me. 

“I’ve been fine, hyung. Honest.” I grumbled as I stared at the words on my paper, trying not to act like a child being scolded for stealing cookies. It was my body. If I didn’t want to take the pills I shouldn’t have to. 

“Hyorin-ah.” The tone of his voice broke my heart. This guy seriously had turned into an older brother figure, and it hurt to know that he felt disappointed in me. “Please?” He set the case in front of me and I could only stare at it for a moment while Jin filled up a glass of water, apparently forgetting about his brother’s injuries for the time being. I could see Yoongi staring at the case from the corner of my eye, but I ignored him as I emptied the slot marked ‘Friday’ into my hand. Right before I picked up the glass, Jin double checked, making sure that all six pills were there before he nodded. I grimaced before I tossed the pills onto my tongue, chugging the water to get them down. I gasped when I pulled the glass away from my lips, taking a second to catch my breath. “You know you can’t skip them, Hyorin-ah. That’s probably why you bruised so badly.” So much for not seeming like a scolded child. My head lowered, focusing on the paper again. I didn’t have it in me to respond. I knew he was right, but the medication just made me feel so horrible all the time. I wanted just a few days of peace. Thankfully, the oven chose that moment to beep, and I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding as Jin stood to get the cupcakes.

“Hey litt-Nam Hyorin.” I jumped a bit when Yoongi called my name, and I could only stare at him blankly. I was surprised that he even remembered my real name, he’d been calling me ‘little girl’ for so long. “Are you any good with math?” I snorted a bit as I glanced over at his paper. I wanted to tease him about Algebra being one of the most simple things in the world, but I held my tongue. Sometimes it was difficult to remember that I was just oddly good at math and everyone else hated it. 

Without any more words, I showed Yoongi how to use a specific formula, making sure to map out each step so that he would understand. By the time I was done with that, Jin had the cupcakes on a cooling rack and was finally able to patch up his brother’s face. Using the quiet time, I finished up another paragraph of the report before Moo started to get impatient. “You’re getting spoiled, Moo. I really need to tell hyung to stop giving you treats between meals.” The male in question chuckled as I climbed off of my stool, moving towards the food dish by the fridge that was still half full. “You little shit. You still have food. Eat what you’ve got, Moo. I raised you better than that.” The tiny dog just stared at me as I refilled his water dish, unmoving until I finally caved and put a fresh scoop of food into his bowl. “Brat.” I grumbled to the dog before I stretched a bit, letting myself glance outside. “Wow, hyung. You’ve been here for hours. You two should probably go back and get some dinner.” It wasn’t that I wanted them gone. Actually, I liked having the company. Even though we were best friends, I didn’t even let Jimin and Namjoon into my apartment. Ever since the incident it was a little harder for me to put my trust in people that were supposed to be the closest to me.

“It’s fine, Hyorin-ah. I can cook dinner if you’d like, or we can order in. You can worry about your school work rather than your food.” Jin was in the middle of frosting the cupcakes I’d been dying to have. Sure, I would have been just fine with some ramen and a few of those, but the prospect of real people food made my stomach growl. “I’ll order something real quick. That will be better than trying to cook something in a hurry.” He chuckled as he set aside his piping bag, ruffling his brother’s hair before he slipped off into the hallway to make the call.

Moo had pranced off after Jin, and I made my home back at the counter, glaring at the worksheet that had ruined my life. “That looks likes some sort of project. Why are you trying to finish it all in one go?” I raised my eyebrow at Yoongi. I really didn’t get what this guy’s deal was. We clearly didn’t like each other. We hadn’t since Freshman year when Taehyung decided to hang out with me and the nerds instead of him, but here he was. In my apartment. Trying to start a conversation. 

“I’m pretty sure if I actually tried to work on this with my partner that I’ll go to prison for murdering him in a very creative way. So I figured the best way to handle it is to get the stupid thing done so I don’t have to see his stupider face.” Yoongi stared at me for a moment, blinking slowly, until he let out a snort.

“You do realize that stupider isn’t a word, right?” I narrowed my eyes at him, which only made him laugh louder before he closed the lid of my laptop. “Take a break. You’ll drive yourself crazy if you focus on that for too long.” Thinking over his words, I’d realized that I hadn’t had a cup of coffee _or_ a cigarette since I’d gotten home. Well that was odd. No wonder I was such a mess. 

“Tell hyung that I’m out on the balcony, yeah?” That was the only warning I gave before slipping my jacket back on and passing through the sliding door next to the sink. I zipped up the jacket quickly as I closed the glass door behind me. It was still chilly for spring, and the evening breeze was almost unforgiving as I threw up my hood and lit up a cigarette I’d pulled from my pocket. It only took one puff for me to feel the eyes on me. My first instinct was to turn around, sure that Yoongi or Jin was watching me from the kitchen, or even Moo, but no. Yoongi was still alone in the kitchen and focused on his homework. A chill went down my spine as I slowly turned towards the road, glancing down. My blood ran cold as I saw a figure standing beneath one of the street lights, a hood hiding the face. Seriously universe? You just love to fuck with me, don’t you?

“Hey, are you oka-” I cut off Yoongi’s words as he slid the door open, holding a finger to my lips as I stood on my tiptoes to shield him from the prying eyes below. He raised an eyebrow at me questioningly but I shook my head, pushing him back inside and motioning for him to close the curtains. Without a word he did as I asked, and I breathed out a sigh of relief as I turned back to the road, my hands shaking as I peered to the street. The figure was no longer standing there, and I wasn’t sure if I was relieved or more terrified. Had he seen Yoongi? Could he feel my fear all the way from down there? Why was he even back in the first place? Was it even really him? Was it even real?

My head was spinning from all the questions, and I felt my legs go out. My knees connected with the floor with a solid thunk, but I paid them no mind. I had more important things to worry about. I hastily fished for the phone in my pocket, but froze as soon as it was in my hands. What exactly was I planning? I couldn’t call the police. He wasn’t there anymore. I couldn’t call Joon or Chim, I was still far too angry to show them a vulnerable side of me. I certainly couldn’t call the assbag of all assbags, because that was just a given. I heaved out a sigh before I returned the phone to my pocket, feeling utterly defeated. There was no one I could turn to. Yes, there were two dudes in my house at the current moment, but Jin would have a fit, and I didn’t trust Yoongi enough to let him into that part of my life.

“Hyorin-ah? Yah! Nam Hyorin!” I finally looked up as Jin’s worried voice hit my ears. I only blinked up at him, not really able to say anything. “What is wrong with you today? We’re seriously going to need to have a chat, later.” He scolded as he knelt in front of me, gasping when he saw that my fingers were slightly burned. I’d completely forgotten that I was smoking, and the cherry was already at the filter, singeing the skin between my pointer and middle fingers. He slapped the object out of my hands and helped me to my feet, though they really didn’t want to work. “Yoon! I need your help for a second.” The boy inside grumbled, but he didn’t question his brother as he popped his head outside. Instantly the annoyance was wiped off of his face, and he draped my arm around his neck so he could help his brother carry me inside. Instead of sitting me back at the counter with my homework, they plopped me down onto the couch, and Jin rushed to get the first aid kid that he still hadn’t put away. “What happened, Hyorin-ah? You’re white as a sheet!” I couldn’t tell him anything. I couldn’t drag him into this. So I just shook my head, trying to give him a smile.

“It’s nothing, hyung. I must have been dizzy. My legs just gave out. I guess you were right, I can’t skip out of my meds.” My laugh was shaky as I tried my best to convince him that it was just my body acting up, instead of the pure fear of seeing someone watch my house. It seemed that I’d convinced him, for right now at least, and he stayed quiet while he rolled up the legs of my jeans to patch up my knees. Yoongi, silent like his brother, continued to give me a knowing look that made me feel oddly small. Had he seen the guy by the lamp? Did his instincts tell him who it was? Did he know what happened Freshman year? My brain filled with even more questions, and I felt a headache coming on. 

“There. Now I don’t want you getting up from this couch at all tonight, you understand? Not even after we leave. I’ll lock up for you.” I pursed my lips a bit, mumbling a ‘yes mom’ to the male as he lifted my legs to stretch them out on the couch. Now that I was slightly more calm, I could actually feel the pain in my knees. I glowered at them, thinking that would take the pain away, but naturally it didn’t do a damn thing. While I glared at my own limbs, Jin helped stuff pillows behind me so I was propped up all comfortable like, and Yoongi pushed the coffee table closer to me. Much to my surprise, he already had our school work spread out on it. To be completely honest I was glad that he thought of the distraction. 

“Yanno...You might not be so bad.” I mumbled to him through my pursed lips, though I kept my eyes on my knees. No matter how much I wanted to get that stupid project done, there was no way in hell I would be able to with all of the thoughts running through my head. 

“I get that a lot.” He snorted out the words and I gave the same noise in return. Even though I couldn’t see him, I could feel Jin over my shoulder. He was probably smiling like an idiot like he usually did when he was pleased about something.

Just as I was finally in a comfortable position and was prepared to attempt another question from the worksheet, Moo decided it was the opportune time to scratch at the door. “Shit. I’m sorry, Moo. Mommy completely spaced out.” I tossed the blanket Jin had brought out off of me, draping it over the back of the couch before I attempted to get up. 

“Don’t you dare, Nam Hyorin. What did I tell you?” Jin’s sharp voice had me pausing mid-way off of the couch, and I lowered myself back down with wide eyes. He tossed me his wallet, which I caught with slight difficulty, before he grabbed Moo’s leash off of the coat hook by the door. “I”ll be back in a little while. Pay for the food when it gets here. I’ll know if you don’t use my money, so think carefully, Nam Hyorin.” With that he was gone, and I let out a sigh.

“I hate when he goes into Mama Jin mode.” I shook my head a bit, setting the wallet on the coffee table. Yoongi nodded in agreement, though the two of us quickly fell silent. It was a bit awkward, since we were the furthest from friends and stuck in an apartment together, but we were able to distract ourselves with homework until there was a knock on the door. Much to my surprise, Yoongi stood, grabbing his brother’s wallet. 

“What? I’m not getting murdered because you didn’t listen to my brother.” Ah. He had a point, there. I wasn’t about to argue with that sound logic. So I allowed the male to answer my door and pay for the food. I didn’t even mind as he searched through the cabinets and fridge for extra dishes that would go well with the black bean noodles and mandu Jin had ordered. It sucked to feel helpless in my own home, but at least I was able to clean the papers and my laptop from the coffee table from my position. I was even able to put our work into separate neat piles, which was pretty impressive while lying down, if I do say so myself. 

As Yoongi began setting up the food on the coffee table, I tried to pull the blanket back, only to find it stuck to my knees. I mumbled a curse, tightening my ponytail out of frustration. “Hey...Yoongi. Can you hand me the first aid kit?” He paused in his distribution of sauce, sliding the kit towards me, and I snatched it right up. Inside the white box, there was a small piece of leather just for situations like this. It wasn’t my first rodeo. Hoping he wouldn’t ask too many questions, I stuck the strip between my teeth before I bit down and yanked the blanket away. The pain I felt as the blanket separated from my skin was absolutely horrible, though I was more upset at the fact that I had to rewash my favorite throw blanket. “Fuck.” I whimpered the word with the strip still between my teeth before I spat it back into the box, swinging my legs over the end of the couch. “Shit, shit, super shit. I need a towel. The bathroom’s at the end of the hall, try to get a black one.” Yoongi asked no questions when he saw the state of my knees. He only jumped up from the floor, dashing off to get what I needed. Meanwhile, I tried to keep my legs elevated so I could prevent more blood getting onto my precious sofa. Seokjin hyung was going to ream me a new one, again, for skipping out on my meds.

“Here. Lift them a little more.” Yoongi finally chanced some words as he came back in with a large black towel. I did as he asked, and he quickly slid the towel under my legs before pulling more gauze from the first aid kit. “Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing. You’ve seen me get into fights all the time, remember? Jin’s not the only one who patches me up.” I blinked for a second. With the nice time the three of us had been having, I actually _had_ forgotten that I usually stood on the sidelines as he fought, cheering for the other person. “Those pills you took earlier…” He trailed off a bit, taking a second to glance up at me while he pulled the soiled bandages from my knees. The bleeding was still quite heavy, so he was trying to put pressure down with medicated gauze pads which frankly hurt like a bitch.

“I have anemia. Three types.. One is a medicine to help my blood clot when I bleed, the other is to replenish the cells I lose when I bleed, and the rest are iron and vitamins.” I explained the situation as slow as I could, trying to focus on my words, rather than my pain. “Even the tiniest poke to my finger makes me bleed like a stuck pig.” My words were slightly slurred at the end, and it was getting more and more difficult to focus on the guy patching up my knees. “I think...I think I’m going to nap until hyung comes back.” And that was all she wrote. My head lolled back, flinging the rest of me back as well.


	2. Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The nightmare is too real to handle alone.

I don’t know how long I was out, but I jolted awake when I heard Seokjin hyung’s worried voice and Moo’s frantic barks. “Yah! Min Yoongi! I know I didn’t say it, but you were supposed to take care of her!”

“I did! We noticed that her knees were still bleeding so I was patching them up, then she just passed out! It’s not my fault! I made sure she was comfortable and I even put some heat packs on her!” Yoongi was arguing with his brother, sounding mortified that he was being accused of something other than fighting and being a little shit.

“Dammit. How bad is it? Is she still bleeding?” I felt the blanket lift off of my legs, and I slowly blinked my eyes open, staring up at the man who was examining my knees. He noticed right away, putting a hand to my forehead. “You’re not bleeding anymore, so that’s good. We won’t have to take you to the hospital this time. Yoongi, the juice.” He was rambling a bit, but I understood. Hyung was usually even more frantic than this when he was around and I had an episode, so I was proud that he was toning himself down so well.

“Here. Do you need help sitting up?” I took a second to glance over at Yoongi, and I almost wanted to vomit. There was pity in those stupid eyes of his. He felt sorry for me. He wasn’t on his best behavior because his brother and I were close, or because he was secretly a decent human being. No. He was being nice because he felt fucking sorry for me. The simple thought made my blood boil, and the world spun for a second before Jin steadied me, holding onto my arms.

“Take it easy, Hyorin-ah.” He whispered softly before he helped me sit up against some cushions. Thank the Lord for hyung being able to read me like a book. He could obviously tell that the air had shifted, since he took the glass from his brother, holding the straw to my lips. “I know you hate it, but it’ll help. You need to stay hydrated.”

I rolled my eyes a bit with a sigh. “Yes, mom.” Hesitantly, I took the straw into my mouth, taking an experimental sip. The liquid had barely even gone down my throat and it was already trying to come back up. I pulled away from the straw, rapidly shaking my head. “Can’t I just have water?” I gasped out the words, honestly feeling like I was dying just from one sip of the orange juice. It was the best drink to help get my energy back, but due to the disease, my body reacted strongly against anything super acidic. Jin was giving me his typical look, and I didn’t even care that Yoongi the douche bag was there with his stupid pity eyes, I stuck out my bottom lip in a pout. “I can’t do it. I really can’t.” I shook my head slightly, weakly trying to push the glass of juice away. “Please don’t make me.” I whimpered the last bit, and I watched him cave.

“Yoongi, go get her some water, yeah?” The orange haired male stayed silent as he stood from the floor and made his way to my kitchen. “Hyorin, this is why you need to take your meds. You really need to take care of yourself better.” We both heaved out a sigh, and I knew where this was going. “You should reconsider moving in with us. I know there won’t be much space, and that you and Yoongi don’t really get along, but someone’s got to be there to watch over you.” I saw Yoongi tense from the corner of my eye, and even though I was angry, I couldn’t help but feel a little bad for him.

“I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself, hyung. I don’t really need you to baby me. I’ve been getting by just fine with you being next door. You know I’ll always call if something goes really wrong, and the walls are thin. You always hear me fall.” We’d had the same exact conversation multiple times since he’d found out about my illness, and it always ended up the same way, with both of us silent and sad. I finally broke the silence once half of my water was gone. “I want to go to the balcony. Can you go get my chair?” Jin ruffled my hair as he stood, going off to the bedroom to find where I’d stashed the wheelchair I was forced to use when my body didn’t want to cooperate.

“I pissed you off again.” Yoongi didn’t even phrase it as a question. He just seemed to know that I was angry at him.

I didn’t even bother beating around the bush. “I don’t want your pity. If you feel sorry for me, keep it to yourself and just do your homework or something. I don’t need you looking at me like I’m some kicked puppy your brother found on the side of the road.” My words were clipped, but there were years of pent up frustration behind them. Thankfully he said nothing in return, because Jin was rolling out my chair. With great difficulty I removed the blanket from my lap and lifted my arms. I hated feeling so weak. I was known for being the tough one, the one who didn’t mind kicking the crap out of someone else, but here I was, getting lifted into a stupid wheelchair. Instead of my jacket, Jin wrapped me in a blanket while draping another one over my lap. “I’ve got it from here, hyung. You guys go ahead and start dinner without me.” I grinned up at the male before I slowly rolled myself to the sliding door after grabbing my cigarettes from my jacket pocket. It took a little bit of maneuvering, but I was able to get it open and roll myself through, letting out a sigh as the night air hit me.

I could only hope that the weakness would pass by morning, or at least the afternoon. If I missed another day of work I would get fired for sure, and I needed to pay my rent this month. The building manager wouldn’t let me off again because of some stupid disease. Shaking the negative thoughts from my head I pulled out a cigarette, cursing at myself for my shaky hands as I tried to light it. More often than not, I really hated being _the sick kid_ , that’s why I had tried so hard to change my image when I got to University. No one but Seokjin, and now Yoongi, knew that I was sick. Hell, I hadn’t even told Namjoon and Jimin. The two would have tried to baby me constantly, and that sort of frequent attention made me want to vomit. “Here.” The voice behind me made me jump a bit, but I just stared as Yoongi snatched the objects from my hand, lighting it himself before he took a long drag. “I don’t feel sorry for you. I feel sorry _to_ you.” His words were low as he handed both the cigarette and lighter back to me. “You’ve been dealing with this on your own for a while, now. I can understand how hard it must have been.” My eyebrow raised at his words, and I turned my head to fully face him. “My mom had cancer. That’s why dad left her. He didn’t want to be with a dying woman. I was the one who cared for her until she passed. There were so many times that she told me to give up, to come live with dad and his new wife. She tried her hardest to be independent so I could live freely. It killed her that she couldn’t do anything for herself.” His words stabbed me directly in the heart, and I found myself reaching out to touch his arm.

“I’m sorry I acted like that, but-” He shook his head, bending down so we were at the same level.

“I get it. You don’t want people to look at you differently. You want to get along with people because of genuine kindness, not sympathy.” Curse this boy. Curse this boy and his stupid orange hair and strangely nice smile and suddenly kind eyes. Curse everything about this weird ass day. For once, with just the two of us it was nice. We weren’t fighting, and he wasn’t watching me kick the crap out of someone, but the air changed in an instant. “Don’t take your eyes off of me, you got it? Someone’s watching.” I felt my veins turn to ice, and it took everything in me to keep my eyes on the boy in front of me.

“You and your brother should go. Don’t let him see you.” My voice was barely above a whisper, and it was shaking. Most of the time I could be strong. Hell, I could still stand to be around Taehyung for short periods of time, but there was one person I feared more than anything in the world, and there was no hiding it. 

“When the hell did he get out?” I wanted to cry. I wanted to sob out all of my frustration and scream at the Universe, but instead I found myself clutching at Yoongi’s sleeve like a lifeline. The action was enough to turn Yoongi’s attention away from the street. “Yah. Nam Hyorin. There’s no need to be afraid.” He was trying to comfort me, but the words only brought tears to my eyes, and it took him point three seconds to understand. “It was you…” My eyes snapped up to his, wide and wild, and he searched them with a mixture of emotion in his own. “H-here.” He stuttered out the words before he took the cigarette from my shaking hands, holding it to my lips. I took a long, wavering drag before slowly blowing out the smoke. “He won’t hurt you. Not with me and hyung around.” 

“You can’t stop him. He takes what he wants.” I didn’t realize my words had been spoken aloud until Yoongi tossed out the half smoked cigarette to stand up. He moved behind me, preparing to wheel me into the apartment. “This isn’t your fight.”

I could practically feel his hands tightening on the handles of the chair. “It is now.” Was his simple reply before he pushed me into the house, where Jin was still waiting in the living room. When he saw the state I was in my brain began to work in overdrive, trying to think of an excuse. “I think she has a fever.” Yoongi’s words had me trying to sit up straight, only to feel dizzy at the attempt.

“Dammit, Hyorin-ah. I’m coming over every morning to make sure you take your meds from now on.” I opened my mouth to protest, but Jin’s look was enough to keep my silent. “Now come eat your dinner.” He sounded like an exhausted mother, and my heart broke for him.

“Hyung.” He turned around at the weakness in my voice, his gaze softening a bit. “Thank you for taking such good care of me, and I’m sorry I’m such a burden.” His frown turned into a gentle smile as he took my chair from Yoongi, wheeling me to the couch. He stayed silent as he lifted me from the chair and got me settled back onto the couch cushions. 

“You’re not a burden, Hyorin. Don’t ever think that, okay?” I gave a small nod before the brothers settled on the floor next to the couch. Much to my surprise they took turns shoving food into my mouth while I tried to keep my senses. Apparently Yoongi hadn’t been wrong. The sweat dripping down my face made it obvious that I had a fever. Whether it was due to my body trying to control my temperature with the lack of iron from the bleeding, the aftermath of my terror, or a side effect of the medication, I wasn’t sure. I just knew that it wasn’t fun. 

They stayed with me well into the evening, waiting for my fever to break. Thankfully it did, even though it wasn’t until nearly two in the morning. “It’s late. You’ve been here long enough. You should go get some rest.” I glanced at the orange haired male already snoring on the living room floor, using his history book as a pillow. I tried my best not to roll my eyes.

“I know you’re not going to like this.” From the tone of his voice I was sure that I wouldn’t. Not in the slightest. “The fever broke but you’re still warm, and you can’t get around on your own just yet. I’m leaving Yoongi here.” I instantly wanted to protest, but the pure look of worry on the older male’s face had me swallowing my words. “I’ll feel a lot better if he’s here with you while you’re like this.” My head nodded weakly, knowing that he wouldn’t let up on this. It was just in his nature to worry. I knew that he probably wanted to stay, as well, but two men in my apartment probably wouldn’t look good for my reputation. “There’s my girl.” He stood from his spot on the couch, popping his back before turning to face me again. “I’ll be back in the morning to help you get ready, alright?” I heaved out a sigh, though I nodded again. There was just no arguing with this man. “Good. Get some sleep.” He ruffled my hair before he rushed about to clean everything up. His final act was throwing a blanket over his snoring brother before he left us alone in the apartment. 

For a long while I stared at the ceiling, trying to make out the tiles in the darkness. With the dim lights from the balcony, I could barely make out Yoongi’s sleeping face. He’d rolled onto his back sometime while I wasn’t paying attention, and the blanket was thrown a few feet away from him. I couldn’t help but snort as I threw aside my own blanket. I sucked in a deep breath, steeling myself against the pain as I stood to shaky feet. The world wobbled slightly, but after a few moments of gripping the arm of the couch I was able to move to the sleeping male. I winced as I bent, but I tried my best to remain quiet as I pulled the blanket back over him, tucking it up under his chin. I hissed out when I got back to my feet, but Yoongi only shifted slightly as I moved to grab him a pillow from the couch. I had finally gotten it under his head when I heard it. A thump in my bedroom. My eyes darted around frantically, and my heart stopped when I saw Moo lying just under the coffee table so he could be near the both of us. If the dog hadn’t made the noise...I didn’t stop to think of the possibilities. 

I tried to stay as quiet as I could while wobbling against the walls, holding myself up. I didn’t want to wake Yoongi. Didn’t want to alert him to anything. If someone was in the apartment, and if it was who I suspected, then I didn’t want him to know that I wasn’t alone. Ever so slowly I crept along the wall, taking in a deep breath before stealing a peek into my bedroom. There he was, in all of his glory. His face was covered by the hood of his jacket, but there was no mistaking it. The way he stood, the way he rummaged through my things. I was chilled to the bone. I would have to be cautious. I would have to be watching behind me with every step I took, every breath I made. 

Almost as if he could sense my presence, he startled, knocking over a picture frame on my nightstand. I quickly stepped back around the wall so I was hidden, but the noise didn’t go unnoticed. Yoongi began to stir on the floor and my panic sent me into overdrive. Without thinking, I slid to him, while still trying not to make very much noise. I quickly slapped a hand over his mouth, my eyes pleading with him to be quiet while they fought with tears from my drop to the floor. He struggled for a moment before noticing the fear in my eyes. Instantly he was on alert and listening, and I rapidly shook my head at him. I was hoping if we remained quiet enough he would just leave us be.

After five minutes of silence it seemed that my prayers had been answered, and Yoongi bolted to my bedroom to check. “It’s trashed.” He whispered when he knelt down next to me. I still hadn’t moved. The fear was too great, and I was afraid that if I moved the tears would fall. I couldn’t risk that. Not with the orange haired male by my side. “It’s okay to be afraid, Nam Hyorin.” That was all it took. The cork was removed, the bottle my terror resided in flowing over as I sobbed. I was hesitant, to say the least, when the male’s arms came around me, rubbing soothing circles on my back with one hand while he stroked my hair with the other. “I won’t tell hyung about this, but you have to promise me something.” I pulled away from his embrace, swiping at my eyes as I glanced up at him. “I am going to make a proposal to hyung tomorrow. You have to say yes. You can hate me even more than you already do, but you have to accept it.” He looked so serious, so worried, that I didn’t think before nodding. He let out a relieved sigh before he stroked my hair once more, getting to his feet.

He helped me back to the couch, making sure I was comfortable before draping the blanket over me. Even though I was all settled, Yoongi didn’t go back to his spot like I’d thought he would. Instead, he vanished into my bedroom. I had no idea what he was thinking, but I wasn’t given much choice when sleep finally overtook me.


	3. Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Old friends are new enemies and old enemies are new friends.

I awoke the next morning to the sound of my door opening, and I groaned against the light assaulting my eyes as I rolled onto my side. My muscles screamed a bit, but I was otherwise fine as I tried to let my eyes adjust. I found Yoongi back on the floor, curled up like a child. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up just yet.” Jin’s voice had me jumping just a bit, but I smiled up at him as I swung my legs over the edge of the couch. The older man rushed to my side, but I waved him off. Save for a little discomfort in my knees I felt perfectly fine, it was nothing I hadn’t dealt with before. I rose from the sofa, stretching a bit as I fought to wake myself up. My back popped loudly, and Jin didn’t hesitate to scold me. I stuck my tongue out at the older male before he ruffled my hair. “Go get what you need for the day. I’ll get your medicine.” I grumbled, though without much more protest I wobbled towards my bedroom. As soon as I stepped through the threshold, I noticed something. The room was absolutely spotless. There was no trace of the horrible human that had broken in last night. Even the screen in my window was carefully replaced, and I had to wonder. Had Yoongi done all of this when I’d fallen asleep?

I shook out the thoughts, knowing that if I didn’t hurry and get ready, Hyung would have my head. I quickly pulled on a pair of jeans and my tan work shirt before I waddled back out into the living space. I hadn’t been gone all that long, but Yoongi was just coming through the front door in a new change of clothes. I had actually planned on greeting the little shit, but Hyung was already guiding me to the kitchen, where he had my meds laid out for me. I groaned as I climbed up onto the stool and knocked them back, and Jin got to work on brushing out my hair. It seemed to be a habit of his, on days like these when he needed to check on me in the morning. “I think you’re right.” Yoongi finally blurted out when Jin was in the middle of braiding my hair. “I think she needs to move in with us.” I nearly choked. He couldn’t possibly be serious! “Or at least...One of us needs to be here with her when she has spells like this.” He pursed his lips and avoided my eyes. Traitor! I knew what this was about, the little shit. 

“Yoongi, take me outside.” I grumbled as I plopped into the wheelchair that Jin had just brought out for me. He wanted me to be fully rested for work, so that apparently meant no walking. The orange haired male complied to my snappy request, wheeling me outside and shutting the glass door almost immediately. “I know what this is about, and I won’t agree to it. Dammit, Yoongi! I’m not bringing anyone else into this mess! We don’t even like each other, why the hell would you suggest something like that?” I hissed out the words as soon as the younger male was facing me. 

“You already agreed to it. You promised.” My words caught in my throat. Dammit, the kid was right. My promise for his silence. I couldn’t afford to go back on it. Jin couldn’t know. It was too risky. “Look...I’m sorry.” Yoongi sighed out before running a hand through his hair a couple of times. “I’ll look out for you when I can. I won’t give them details, but I’ll throw some of my guys on watch duty as well, okay?” I was hesitant on accepting so much help, so willingly, but I nodded. The fear of _him_ doing something even worse than last time was stronger than the fear of Yoongi seeing me in a perpetual state of weakness. With another heavy sigh, the slightly younger male patted the top of my head. “Okay, let’s get you to work, hm?” As much as I wanted to stay home and sleep all day, or cower in fear, I needed the money if I wanted to continue having a place to live. 

I was more than surprised to see Jin standing in the doorway, Moo’s leash in one hand, and my dog’s overnight bag in the other. “I figured it would be best if I brought Moo with me for a day or two. That way you can get all the rest you need without worrying if he’s fed or needs a walk.” Hyung had to be one of the most considerate humans on the planet. “I’ll let you get going, now. Make sure you get her there in one piece, Min Yoongi. And do try to remember to pick her up after her shift?” The male rolled his eyes while I stifled my snort, and soon the three of us were off. Jin headed to his own apartment, while Yoongi helped me hobble out of the building. 

Thankfully the book store wasn’t too far away from the building. One of the reason’s I’d begged for a job there. Only one time did Yoongi have to use cat-like reflexes to grab me before I hit the ground when my legs gave out, and I was glad that was it. Being in his arms was far too much for me to handle at that moment. It just brought on a surge of confusing emotions that I didn’t have the time nor patience to deal with. Not when I had work, a stupid project, asshole friends, and a stalker on the brain. “Okay. I’m going back to your apartment. I texted Hoseok, and he should be around sometime soon to watch the outside of the store.”

“What did you tell him, anyways? Won’t he think it’s strange that he’s keeping me safe when you and I totally “hate” each other?” I threw the word ‘hate’ in air quotes, since we were actually sort of getting along in an odd bodyguard/damsel sort of way. 

“Partial truths. You and my brother are friends. We were over for dinner and I saw some sketchy dude watching the apartment. It made me feel uncomfortable.” He gave a simple shrug. “I mean, he’ll know it’s a total crock of shit if he sees the guy with his own two eyes, but the story’s good enough for right now.” I huffed out a sigh with a gentle nod before I took a step backwards.

“Thanks. For walking me.” My smile was awkward as I pushed open the door to the shop, but I turned mid-step. “Yoongi!” He froze, as I had, and turned with questioning eyes. “Tell Hoseok to come in and get my number when he gets here, so he can warn me if anything’s weird.” For some reason, my cheeks warmed at the ridiculous statement that fell out of my lips, and I watched the male’s smile falter only slightly before he nodded. 

“Don’t worry. You’ll be completely protected.” Then he was gone, and I was left alone with thoughts that made me want to rip out my hair.

\--------------------

“Sooo. Two boys in one day! Which one are you with?” The overly peppy voice had me wanting to shove paperclips into my eyes. Hoseok had just left after getting my number, probably to take up a spot to scope out the area. I didn’t know how dudes did their thing, I tried not to pay attention to them. “Yah. Nam Hyorin? Hello! Speaking to you!” I snapped out of my inner monologue, blinking at the red-head next to me behind the counter.

“Neither. Hoseok’s acting as a spy so that rat bastard Kim Taehyung doesn’t try anything funny while I’m here. And Jin Hyung made Yoongi walk with me.” I shrugged, trying to play everything off, but it was difficult. There were very few people who could see through my lies, and Taemi just happened to be one of those people. She didn’t press, thankfully, and surprisingly left me alone for the rest of the morning. It was both a blessing and a curse. The silence. Since time began to blend together without Taemi constantly pestering me.

“Lunch?” I jumped at the sudden voice on the other side of the counter. I could only blankly stare at the orange haired male who was looking at me like I had three heads. “Hyorin? Nam Hyorin?” I blinked a few times as I snapped out of my state of shock, though I still couldn’t find my words. “Do you want some lunch?” Yoongi held up Jin’s wallet. No doubt Hyung had insisted that I be fed.

“I could have gotten something from the store’s cafe. You didn’t have to walk all of the way down here.” I mumbled with pursed lips as I slipped out from behind the counter. Taemi took over for me, and I glared at the wink she sent my way. 

“Hyung actually shoved me out of the apartment, then threw his wallet at my face.” I snorted out a laugh at that as we made our way to a small restaurant across the street. “I ordered before I came to get you. I figured that you don’t have much time to eat.” He admitted sheepishly as he sat down. I followed suit, wincing as the scabs on my knees pulled a bit. His eyebrows rose slightly, and I figured that was his silent way of asking if I was okay. I decided to give him the same silent answer, only smiling slightly to show that I was, indeed, totally fine. Honestly I felt a bit uncomfortable with all of the attention. I never showed anyone the weak side of myself, unless it was Hyung rushing over after I fell or something. This was completely new to me and I had no idea how to handle it all, but for some reason it almost felt easy with Yoongi.

“Um...I think I’m missing something.” Every inch of my body tensed, but I tried to keep my face neutral as I glanced at the figure now hovering over me. “Rin…? You wanna explain?” Not really, no. I wasn’t even sure that I _could_ explain.

“I’m having lunch, Joon. Kinda obvious.” I didn’t want to sound so snarky, but after the previous day I just didn’t want to deal with him. I loved Namjoon and Jimin. I really did, but if my only friends kept defending the guy that made my life a living Hell...Well...I didn’t know if I could handle it for much longer.

“Yes. I see that, but Rin…” Namjoon cut himself off as he motioned to Yoongi. For once I didn’t have a snappy comeback. I was at a complete loss for words. What on Earth was I supposed to say?

“Is she not allowed to have lunch with a friend?” Thankfully Yoongi answered for me, but I nearly choked on my water. Friends? Is that what we were? I wasn’t sure we’d quite gotten to that stage, yet.

“Did the definition of ‘friend’ change in the last twenty-four hours? Are friends people who laugh when you get punched? Or do the punching?” Namjoon’s voice was tense, and I could feel a headache coming on. I really didn’t want to have this conversation right now, but his words started a fire in my veins, and I felt my hands clenching into fists. 

“As opposed to what? People who try to push you into conversations with the person that literally ruined their life?” My teeth were clenched, as my fists were, and I was actually surprised at the low tone of my voice. I hadn’t wanted it to go this far, but Namjoon wasn’t really giving me a choice. He had no right to lecture me on friendship when he’d been pretty shit in that department lately.

“Really? This again? When are you just gonna get over that and suck it up? It’s not like you can avoid him forever. He’s our friend. You’re going to interact. Deal with it.” That. Was. It. I was on my feet before I even knew it, one of my fingers poking my ‘friend’ in the chest.

“Deal with it? Deal. With. It? You want me to deal with the person that literally turned my life upside down? That got me kicked out of my own house? There’s a reason I sleep with the lights on, Namjoon. And that reason is Kim Taehyung.” My voice was dangerously low, and I was afraid that if someone didn’t stop me now, I would end up spilling a lot more than I should. Thankfully Yoongi grabbed my arm, tugging me away from the annoyingly tall idiot I was glaring at.

“I think it’s time for you to go.” Even in my anger I was shocked by the growl in Yoongi’s voice. “Now.” He snapped out the last word, and Namjoon took a final glance between us before stomping away.

“That’s not how I wanted that to happen.” My whisper was shaky, and the orange haired male had to help me sit back down. “Please forget you heard any of that. I-I know he’s going to start asking questions, and knowing that little shit stain he’s going to be more than willing to give Joon answers.” Once again my fists clenched, and Yoongi surprised me once again by laying his hands over them. 

“I’m not going to push you, Nam Hyorin, but if you want to talk just know that I’m willing to listen.” My brain was a big ball of mush. I knew he’d heard of what happened. Well...Everyone had, but my name hadn’t been released. It was only by stupid luck that he’d put the pieces together, but he still probably didn’t know the whole story.

“Thank you.” I muttered before pulling my hands away, and not a second too soon. A large plate of omurice was placed in front of me, and I was actually shocked that this kid knew one of my favorite dishes. Though I wouldn’t have been surprised if Hyung had told him as a way to ease the tension.

Finally we settled into a comforting silence as we dug into our food. He had been right when we had first arrived, I didn’t have that much time to eat, so I tried to scarf down whatever I possibly could without making myself sick. “I’ll take the rest back to your apartment, okay? That way I won’t have to cook so much for dinner.” I found myself chuckling at his words, shaking my head lightly as he walked away with little more than a wave. 

Much to my surprise, Hoseok met me outside of the restaurant, and walked me back across the street to the bookstore. Even though I didn’t know the guy that well, I was able to smile easily. Hoseok had never done me wrong. If anything, he was the voice of reason amongst Yoongi’s friends. Maybe that was why I felt so comfortable around him. “I’ll be waiting when your shift is over, then I’ll walk you to your building. Yoongi’s gonna meet you there.” Hoseok gave a quick explanation before he ran off to his hiding spot, leaving me with a smirking Taemi. 

“You have a lot of explaining to do, young lady.” The smirk never left her face as she leaned against the counter, completely ignoring the rush of customers that waltzed through the door. I tried to keep my face neutral, but my eyes rolled as I pushed passed her, moving to the stool I had set up at the beginning of my shift. I flopped myself down, still ignoring the other female, but she wasn’t impressed. “Yah. Seriously, Hyorin-ah. What’s going on? Is everything okay?” Damn this girl.

“I got into a fight with Namjoon.” I grumbled out the words, grateful when a customer stepped up so I could prolong the conversation that was inevitable. Of course, her piercing eyes were on me as soon as he walked away. “He told me to ‘get over my thing with Taehyung and suck it up.’ That was the third time in the span of two days and I kinda flipped my shit.” I let out a loud huff, glad to at least get that much off of my chest.

“That little shit. I could strangle him.” Thankfully Taemi understood my extreme hatred of the purple haired monstrosity, since she had been my roommate when everything had gone down. 

The rest of my shift was blissfully free of drama, though Jin had called on my second break to check up on me and make sure the meds weren’t causing any of their stupid side effects. I had to admit that I’d been a little nauseous since my lunch, but that was probably from all of the stress and how fast I had eaten. 

As promised, Hoseok was waiting for me outside when my shift ended, and I gratefully clung to his arm as he walked me home. I’d had to stay over by an hour, so the sun was just starting to set, and even my worst enemies knew that darkness and I weren’t friends. 

“Text me your schedule, okay? I’ll walk you whenever I’m available. You’re actually more fun than I thought you’d be.” I snorted at the male’s words, rolling my eyes just a bit.

“I could say the same about you.” I retorted as we turned the corner. For some strange reason, my smile lit up a bit as I spotted Yoongi leaning against the building, my dog running between his legs.

“When the hell did Yoongi get a dog?” My companion mused to himself and I snorted again, finally pulling away from him.

“Moo! Were you good boy for Uncle Jin today?” The tiny dog barked loudly before he yanked out of Yoongi’s grasp and ran to me. I easily scooped him up, the pull from my knees no longer a huge bother. “Hoseok, this is Moo. He’s mine. Jin Hyung has been watching him for me since my schedule’s been a little hectic.” Much to my surprise, the male fawned over my dog. I actually thought that he would run away with him if given the chance.

“I see that look in your eyes, Jung Hoseok. Give back the dog.” I jumped a bit at Yoongi’s voice, not having noticed that he’d walked up to us. I watched as Hoseok reluctantly put Moo on the ground, handing his leash back to the orange haired male.

“I guess that’s my cue. Don’t forget to text me, Noona!” I blinked in shock at the affectionate name, watching his retreating form turn the corner before I turned to Yoongi, unsure of what to say.

“Come on, let’s get you inside, it’s cold out here.” Good excuse. I didn’t hesitate to follow him into the building, though. We shuffled up the stairs in silence, and there were still no words even as we dropped Moo off to Hyung. “How are you feeling?” I was pretty sure that he wasn’t talking about my health, but I didn’t feel comfortable talking about my emotions with this guy just yet.

“A little nauseous, if I’m completely honest. I think it’s a side effect of one of the medications. I think I’m going to lie down for a while, if that’s okay?” I don’t know why I was asking for his permission, since this was _my_ apartment. The male nodded, though, and I felt his eyes on me when I stopped suddenly at the mouth of the hallway. The simple thought of going into my bedroom for longer than a few minutes had my stomach rolling. 

“Come on.” Once again I wondered if Yoongi was psychic as he led me to the couch. I flopped down onto my strangely comfortable sofa, trying not to notice the care Yoongi took as he draped a blanket over me. “Let me know if you need anything, hm?” I nodded softly to the request, though I wasn’t planning on asking him for a single thing. I just wanted to sleep, if I was completely honest. I was drained, both mentally and physically. From classes, and Taehyung, then Joon and _him_ , not to mention my knees and work. I just needed a nice long nap.

Unfortunately my long nap turned into maybe ten minutes, since my phone started going crazy. I groaned as I pulled the device from my pocket, glaring down at the screen when I saw Jimin’s name flashing across it. No doubt Namjoon had told the younger male about our argument, but I didn’t feel like listening to the ‘voice of reason’ right then. I hit ignore, placing the cell on the coffee table before I laid back down. Jimin didn’t get the hint. I ended up slapping a pillow over my face to drown out the noise of constant ringing, until finally I wasn’t the only one who’d had enough.

“You’ve got a lot of nerve.” My eyes went wide as Yoongi snatched up my phone, since I’d practically frozen myself to the couch when I saw the name that time. “I don’t give a flying fuck if you’re her partner. You’re not talking to her, Kim Taehyung.” I flinched at the name, and Yoongi’s face softened just a little bit. “Why I’m here is none of your concern. Get over your sick obsession.” That was that. He turned off my phone and placed it back on the table before moving back to the kitchen without a word. I couldn’t move, couldn’t even blink. What the hell had just happened? I don’t know if I could ever get used to Yoongi defending me, when I could do it perfectly well on my own. I wasn’t mad about it though...It was actually a nice feeling. “Here. I got bored a bit, so I wrote down some notes for you.” Once again I was shocked into silence when Yoongi set up everything I needed for my project, including the three pages of notes he’d written for me. I actually couldn’t keep the smile off of my face, though, as I dove right in. The sooner this project got done, the better. 

I have no idea how long I worked in silence, but it was a constant pattern of boring. I had taken a single break, only to shove my leftover Omurice into my face before getting right back to the grind. I didn’t care that the clock had said it was nearly two in the morning, and Yoongi was already passed out on the other side of the couch, curled up like a small child. I kept typing away, just wanting this to be over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello hello, readers! I just wanted to say thank you guys for reading this so far. I'd love to hear feedback, and I'll try to answer any questions you have as long as it doesn't involve spoilers!
> 
> I don't update very often but you're more than welcome to follow me @sprinKAIDOnuts on twitter!


	4. Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Promises, protections, and propositions.

I mumbled lowly as I felt the couch shift, until panic sank in. A hand was clamped over my mouth, and I struggled until my eyes finally opened. Every muscle relaxed when I realized that it was Yoongi hovering over me, a finger to his lips as he stared at the hallway leading to my bedroom. Terror instantly gripped me as I heard the crash. It sounded like my mirror was being shattered. I didn’t even try to stop the tears in my eyes, now clinging to Yoongi’s arm so tightly I probably bruised him. I know he wanted to pull away, to investigate and probably pummel the crap out of my nightmares, but I wouldn’t let him go. I wasn’t sending him into that. 

He struggled for only a second before he felt my tears dripping onto his hand. Then I was in his arms, my face buried in the soft material of his t-shirt. I tried my very best to not let out my sobs as Yoongi rubbed my back in slow circles. That was how we sat for a good half an hour until the sounds of shattering glass faded into silence. Even though I knew in my heart that my bedroom was now empty, I wouldn’t let go of the orange haired male. “It’s okay now, Hyorin-ah. You know I won’t let anything happen to you, right?” His free hand was smoothing my hair, now, and the fluttering in my stomach was more than unsettling. Apparently, though, it was what my body needed. I shoved away from Yoongi, making a mad dash for the bathroom down the hall. I hadn’t even looked into my bedroom, but another bout of terror rushed through me. I nearly didn’t make it to the toilet before my stomach emptied, and my sobs only got worse as I heaved and gasped.

Yoongi had joined me by the time I was done, and I was grateful that he’d given me my space, but having someone to hold my hair would have been nice. “Come on. I brought you some fresh clothes. Go ahead and shower, I’ll clean up.” I didn’t want to be left alone, not with that psycho running around, but I knew he couldn’t just stand in here with me, that would be weird.

“Thank you.” I whispered before I shut the door to the bathroom, effectively trapping myself in the small room. For a long while I couldn’t even bring myself to take off my shirt without checking every inch of the room for some sort of camera. I might have been paranoid, but I knew what this guy was capable of, and I wasn’t taking any risks. Only when I deemed the room free of bugs did I finally peel off my clothes and step under the scalding water of the shower. I sighed in relief as my muscles relaxed, leaning against the wall of the shower to just soak it all in while trying to wash the vomit out of my hair. 

I tried not to take forever, since I didn’t want Yoongi to worry, so I washed myself quickly before drying off and changing into the outfit he had picked out. It was simple, thankfully, basketball shorts and a t-shirt. Maybe I would have to ask him if he actually _was_ psychic, since he seemed to know exactly what I needed. I didn’t bother brushing my hair after pulling on the comfy clothes, opting to just leave the bathroom behind me. 

I tensed up as I passed the door to my bedroom, but stopped when I noticed Yoongi on his knees with a hand broom, sweeping tiny bits of glass into a dustpan. “Shit.” I whispered out the word as I glanced at the carnage. There wasn’t a space of the room untouched. Papers were scattered all over the floor, my blankets were strewn around, all three mirrors and my picture frames were shattered. “What...What’s the point of all of this?” I couldn’t stop my shaking, even as I asked the question. I just didn’t get it. He’d gotten what he wanted, so why was he coming back? What was the point of completely trashing my room two nights in a row? I pressed the heels of my hands to my eyes, hoping to stop the flow of tears. 

“Shh. Easy there.” Yoongi’s arms were back around me in less than a second, and I took up my new position of clinging to the front of his shirt while I sobbed into his shoulder. “I won’t let anything happen to you, Noona.” The affectionate nickname slipped from his lips so easily, and for some reason I sobbed harder. It had been so long since I’d felt so utterly and completely protected and safe, even though we were standing in the middle of a shitstorm. “Come here.” He whispered the words seconds before he scooped me into his arms as if I weighed nothing, carrying me into the living room. For just a moment he placed me onto the couch before he rushed around gathering blankets. In mere minutes my living room floor turned into a giant fluffy bed of blankets. I could have walked myself, but the orange haired male insisted on lifting me again, only to set me a few feet away. 

“You don’t have to go this far, Yoongi.” I mumbled the words after he’d pulled the top blanket under my chin. While I appreciated everything that he was doing, I felt that this was just a little much.

“I want to protect you.” I think both of us were surprised by the admittance. He flopped down next to me with a huff, though he remained sitting up. “That first night, when I saw the fear in your eyes-” He paused for a moment to run a hand through his hair. “I just...I have to keep you safe. Whatever I can do to make you feel safe in your own home again, I’m going to do it. Even if it’s so simple as tucking you in at night and sitting up until you fall asleep.” An odd surge of emotion rushed through my gut, and I couldn’t help but smile. 

“Lay down, shitstain.” Even though the words were harsh, I said them with a smile. Yoongi looked hesitant, but ended up sprawling out next to me in the end. Even though it was still strange, I _did_ feel safer, and the simple thought had me lightly clinging to his arm as I attempted to fall back into the land of sleep.

\---------------------------

“Dear God you’d better have clothes on, Min Yoongi.” The sound of Jin’s voice startled me awake in the morning, and I nearly had a panic attack when I realized that sometime during the night Yoongi had become my pillow. 

“Jesus, Hyung. Do you have to be so loud?” I felt his voice rumble in the chest my head was resting against, and with it came that stupid fluttering. “What do you take me for? Of course I have clothes on.” He grumbled again before he ever so carefully lifted me off of him, laying me back down on the pillow before standing up. 

“You look like shit. Did you sleep at _all_ last night?” I tensed as I finally allowed myself to sit up, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. Hyung was right. Yoongi [i]did[/i] look like shit. No. He couldn’t have? Without saying a word I sprung up from the floor, rushing towards my bedroom. Spotless. Completely spotless. Not a trace of the monster or his rampage. That little-. I huffed loudly before quickly changing into my work clothes, stomping back into the living area after sending Hoseok a text. 

“You. Sleep.” I jabbed a finger into Yoongi’s chest, who now looked like a scolded child. “Hoseok’s coming to pick me up. So get your ass back to bed you shithead.” Even though I grumbled out the words, I snuck him a smile before turning my attention to Jin. “Is it okay if I skip my meds today? They made me pretty nauseous yesterday and I’d like a day to keep down my food.” Even though he was obviously far from pleased, he gave in to my request, now knowing how hard I was struggling with them.

“Alright. As long as you take them tomorrow.” I nodded in agreement as I hopped up onto a stool, allowing Hyung to brush and braid my hair while Yoongi sank back down into the bed of blankets. “So you wanna explain what I walked in on?” I rolled my eyes, thankful he couldn’t see. Did I really? No, but I would at least give him something.

“Nightmare. They’ve been more frequent, lately, and this one was pretty bad. Yoongi laid next to me while I fell asleep, but I guess he fell asleep too, and you know how I get when I’m sleeping.” It was true. The one time Jin had stayed over he had woken up with me practically on top of him, snoring away. 

Thankfully he didn’t push the subject any further, and Hoseok picked the most opportune time to knock on the door. The thing was, though, it wasn’t the goofy brunette standing in the hallway. My eyes instantly narrowed on the short red head and tall silver haired asshole. “How the fuck did you get my address?” My voice was practically a growl, and it instantly put Jin on alert, and apparently Yoongi as well since he shot right back up from the floor, coming to stand behind me.

“You again? What’re you up to, Rin? Fuckin’ him?” The simple accusation had my jaw dropping to the floor seconds before my fist found its way to his nose.

“Yah! Nam Hyorin!” I ignored Jin’s scolding and the look of shock and hurt on Jimin’s face as I stepped into the hallway a bit, glaring down at Namjoon.

“If you ever knock on my door again spouting that bullshit I will ruin you. Now get up and get lost. I’m sick of seeing your face.” My hands were still clenched into fists, and I could see that Jimin was shaking, but Namjoon was still holding my glare.

“I want to talk about yesterday.” He spoke as he stood, groaning as he rubbed his now bleeding nose. 

“I said all I needed to.” My voice was hissed, since I’d clenched my teeth to remain from punching him again, but I relaxed a bit when I felt Yoongi’s warmth from behind me, his hand on my elbow. “If you’re going to make me relive that torture every time you bring up his name, then I’m done. I’m tired of fighting with you.” I heaved out a sigh. Even though there was still tension in the air, it felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders.

“Noona?” Collectively, our heads turned towards the end of the hall, where Hoseok was approaching slowly. Namjoon and Jimin tensed, but I relaxed even further.

“Hobi!” A small smile tugged at my lips as I turned back to the apartment. Thankfully, Hyung had my jacket in his hands and I was able to snatch it from him before giving both males hugs. I tensed at the jolt when my arms wrapped around Yoongi, but I hugged him the tightest. “Make them leave. I don’t want them anywhere near this place.” I whispered the words as quick as I could before shoving passed the two boys who had once been my shelter, moving to Hoseok. “You ready?” The taller male blinked a bit at the change of my attitude, but grinned and threw an arm around my shoulders after glaring at the two boys in the hallway. “I’ll see you after work Hyung, Yoongi!” I waved to the brothers with the brightest smile I could muster, hoping that my former friends could see that I was moving on. That after all they had put me through I didn’t need, nor want them, in my life any longer. 

As soon as we were out of the building, though, I nearly crumpled against my companion. He was quick to catch me, his eyes flashing worry as he supported my weight. “Noona?” I nodded weakly, hoping to convey that I was okay, just drained. “Do you want to talk about it? You know I’m a good listener.” I told him everything. Once it started, the word vomit refused to stop. I told him about my family life, and coming to college, the incident, my brother’s death, even about the nightmare breaking into my apartment two nights in a row. I should have been wary about spilling such secrets, but Hoseok made me feel comfortable. I didn’t have to hide around him. I felt that I could laugh, or cry, or act like a total goon and he still wouldn’t judge me. 

“Thank you, Hobi-ah. It’s nice to be able to say it out loud.” I grinned up at the taller male as soon as we were in front of the book store, and he returned the gesture while rocking on his heels. 

“Text me if you need me, hm?” I nodded brightly, waving him off before I pushed into the bookstore.

My shift was thankfully quiet. Sunday was our dead day, and I was more than grateful for the time I was given to sort through my thoughts. Even better, I was the only one on shift, so I got no further questioning glances when Hoseok brought me lunch.

Everything was peaceful until we reached the apartment building after my shift, Hobi coming upstairs with me instead of seeing me off at the door. “What happened?” Yoongi knew that he would have just left if everything was okay, and I felt the first flickerings of fear sparking in the pit of my stomach. Even though he was clearly worried, Yoongi took the time to pull me to him, holding me against his side for comfort.

“The idiots were hanging around in the alley behind the bookstore all day.” I was just about to sigh in relief when he continued. “ _He_ and Taehyung were with them.” There it was. The one thing I’d been afraid of. Further confirmation. My legs buckled, but Yoongi wasn’t fast enough to catch me before I landed on the floor. 

“You’re not going back there.” Yoongi growled out the words as he helped me to my feet, once again allowing me to cling to him like a scared child. “I won’t have you somewhere that we can’t protect you, and just having Hoseok there isn’t enough.” I could practically feel the fury in his words, and a shiver shot down my spine. 

“I can’t just stop working, Yoongi. I need the money. I have rent to pay!” How I was able to articulate a proper sentence with my voice quaking with fear, I had no idea. 

“I’ll take care of it.” He countered without an explanation, and I was about to protest when he shot me a pleading glance. “We’ll talk about it later, Noona.” His voice had softened a bit, and I found myself nodding without a second thought. “Do you want me to give you a ride, Hobi?” Honestly with the surge of tension and emotions I’d forgotten that we weren’t alone in my apartment. 

“I’ll be fine. It’s her I’m worried about.” I couldn’t help but smile again at the male while trying to fight back my tears. The fear was slowly building into a panic, and I knew I would be spending another night sobbing into Yoongi’s chest.

“Please stay safe, Hoseok-ah.” I whispered the words out as calmly as I could, but they only made my tears fall. It was strange, though. For once I didn’t care that I was sobbing like a child in front of people, because these two boys were making me feel safe. The taller male didn’t reply to me, only stepped forward to ruffle my head and nod to Yoongi before he left. 

The dam broke. I once again slumped against Yoongi, but this time he was able to scoop me up bridal style before I could hit the floor. “I’m so sorry, Noona. So sorry that you have to go through this, that you have to live through this fear.” His kind words were still so strange, but I soaked them up like a plant with the sun. 

“I just want everything to be over with. I don’t want to have to keep looking over my shoulder every time I walk down the street. I don’t want to keep dragging people into this. I don’t want anyone getting hurt.” I tried my best to suck in the cool air of the apartment after my rant, but my efforts only made my tears fall harder. I didn’t even know how I had any left in me after the last few days. “It’s pathetic. I can’t even sleep in my own bedroom. I can’t even be alone in my own home!”

He slowly sat down on the couch, keeping me in his lap while he smoothed down my hair. “We’ll figure something out, okay? Hyung and I were talking earlier.” Oh great. I had a feeling that I wasn’t going to be happy in the next few seconds. “He knows that something is really wrong, but he didn’t ask for details.” Good. The last thing I wanted was someone as sweet as Jin involved in this mess. “We’ve come up with...Well...It’s the best plan we’ve got so far.” He heaved out another sigh, and I turned to look at him, glad that my sobs had calmed down to light sniffles just from being held by Yoongi. Though it still freaked me out a bit. “My mom left one thing in the will for me, and Jin too since she loved him to bits, and we think that this is a smart time to use it.” I raised an eyebrow at the words, my head tilting of its own accord. “We have a house on the other side of campus. We think the smart move is to pack everyone up and get us into it. _He_ won’t know where we are, and I’ll have my guys making sure _he’s_ not lurking around while we’re moving.” These boys were going to drive me insane. He was right, though. It was the best plan we had.

“When do we leave?” I whispered out the words, too tired to even think about fighting it. It was the smart thing to do. I couldn’t let my pride and independence cloud my judgement. 

“As soon as we possibly can.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to everyone who's read this so far! Comments and feedback are always welcome so please don't hesitate to leave me a comment! You can also find me on twitter @sprinKAIDOnuts <3\. Don't be shy! I promise I won't bite ^_^


	5. Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new house. A new home. A new family.

“I never pegged you as a suck up.” My jaw nearly dropped at the words that came out of my Professor’s mouth. I couldn’t even form proper thoughts. I had _slaved_ over that paper, and it was his damned fault! I would have taken my sweet ass time if he hadn’t paired me up with the spawn of Satan!

“Still a dick, I see.” I jumped nearly a foot in the air when Yoongi popped up behind me, his hands stuffed into his pockets and looking positively intimidating.

“Yah. Min Yoongi.” I hissed at him after throwing a glare his way. It was bad enough that the Professor was on my case about handing in my report project after only a week! He didn’t need to just stroll in and start shit talking my professor!

“I hear you and your brother are moving into the old house.” Okay. Was I chopped liver? Wait. How did he know about the house?

“It’s not really any of your business, _father_ , but yes.” Okay I’m an idiot. How did I not make that connection before? “Now, if you’ll excuse us.” I didn’t even have time to bow before Yoongi was pulling me out of the classroom and into the hallway. “Now I understand why your project was so hard.” He rolled his eyes as he dragged me through the halls. I tried my best to glare at anyone who gave us funny looks, since we were supposed to be enemies and he was holding my hand in a hallway.

“I can walk by myself, Yoongi.” I mumbled before making an attempt to pull my hand away. He wasn’t putting up with my shit, though. In fact, his grip tightened as we picked up our pace, only stopping when we were finally outside. 

He spun me around so I was facing him, blocking something from my vision with his body as his free hand lifted my chin so I was staring directly at him. Okay. Fuck you tingly feeling, you can go away now. “I’m going to do something, but I’m not actually going to do it. You’re going to close your eyes. Okay?” I could only blink up at him before I nodded, my eyes closing without further prompting. I didn’t know what was going on, but I could feel his warmth washing over me. His breath was ghosting over my lips and I could tell that he was only a few centimeters away from me. We didn’t stay that way for very long, since he straightened almost instantly. “Now open your eyes.” I did just that, trying to fight the redness creeping into my cheeks. “I’m going to move aside now, and you’re going to be strong, you hear me? I need you to be strong.” His words struck a chord, and it took me less than a second to know what he was shielding me from. 

“I can do it.” My words were confident, but my tone wasn’t. I saw how his eyes softened as he gave my hand a squeeze before turning around to tug me towards the campus gate. It literally took every inch of willpower to not look like a kitten who’d gotten tossed onto the street, because there he was. Standing with the two people who had claimed to be my best friends. _Laughing_. His eyes were still steely and cold, though, even with the smile on his lips, and I had to put all of my focus on Yoongi’s warm hand over mine to not lose my shit.

“You’re doing good. We’re almost there, Noona.” Yoongi’s encouraging words were what kept me going in the longest three minute walk of my life, but as soon as we were guarded by the trees lining the gate and Hobi came into view I lost it. My grip on Yoongi’s hand was hard enough to break bones even as Hoseok rushed forward to wrap me in his arms. 

“You’re fine now, Noona. We’ve got you.” I tried my best to hold in my sobs. For some reason, I wanted to be strong for them. They’d seen me weak far too often in these last few days, and I had to show them that I could still be the strong shithead they’d known before.

“Let’s get her home, Hobi.” I felt Hoseok nod against my shoulder before releasing me, and Yoongi began to tug me along again. This time however I stopped him, confusion flooding through me. “Jaebum Hyung and Jackson are going to be behind us a little ways so no one follows us. Hyung and Hobi have been moving our stuff into the house all day.” Honestly, I hadn’t expected it to happen so fast. And I thought I would have some sort of say in where everything would go. I wasn’t too beat up over it, though. As long as we were all safe and _he_ couldn’t get to me, it didn’t matter.

The walk was surprisingly pleasant, and didn’t take as long as I thought it would. Plus, not once did either boy get a text or phone call, so I took that as a good sign. Of course, we still kept our heads low as Hoseok used his key to unlock the door of the giant white house. I don’t know exactly what I’d been expecting, but it wasn’t this. The place was completely spotless. Not a speck of dust in sight, and it was absolutely beautiful. “Wow.” I breathed out the word with wide eyes as I glanced around the mudroom. It had its own wardrobe, plus a separate shelf for shoes, which was already completely full.

“Jin Hyung already got the living room and kitchen set up, but we didn’t touch your room.” Hobi popped up in front of me after I’d kicked off my shoes, effectively breaking me out of the trance I’d slipped into. I nodded in reply, allowing the males to give me a tour of the house.

We found Jin on the second floor in one of the bedrooms, carefully smoothing out the wrinkles in the bed sheets. “There you guys are! Moo, mommy’s home.” Without needing further prompting, my baby dashed out from under the bed, and I scooped him up without a word. I only cooed into his fur before handing him off to a pouting Hoseok. “Just so you know the layout, this is my room. So if you ever need me..” Jin trailed off his words, but I got the hint. I smiled as brightly as I could manage before I was dragged out of the room again. Surprisingly, there were still a few doors in the hallway, and I know I’d seen some on the bottom floor as well. 

“We’re at the end of the hall.” Yoongi explained as we passed some of the closed doors. One in particular that already had a horse poster on it was pointed out to me. “This one is Hobi’s.” I nodded in instant understanding, remembering the goofy male mentioning his obsession with horses. “This one is mine, and right across is you.” They were the very last doors in the hallway, and I nearly gasped when Yoongi opened the door to his room. It was nearly the size of my entire apartment, and just from the curtains and dresser I could tell exactly what the bedroom was.

“She had good taste.” I whispered the words softly, subconsciously reaching for Yoongi’s sleeve. I could practically feel the sadness rolling off of him before he led me across the hall, opening the door to my own bedroom. The boys hadn’t lied. The only thing in the room were my dressers and bed, everything else still in boxes. They hadn’t even hung my curtains. 

“Come on. You can unpack later.” Yoongi was tugging at my hand again, but I didn’t really hesitate to follow him back down the stairs. He pointed to the small hallway hidden behind the stairs as we stopped at the bottom. “Those are mostly guest rooms, but Jaebum Hyung and Jackson will be down here.” I nodded again before I was pulled into the kitchen. I nearly could have fainted. Marble countertops, a long island, and a table large enough to fit all of us plus a few more. 

“I’ve died and gone to baking heaven.” I finally pulled my hand from Yoongi’s grasp, waddling over to hug the two ovens, nuzzling the stove tops like a complete idiot. This was going to make stress baking so much more enjoyable.

“That’s not even the best part.” Something about Yoongi’s voice had me standing up with a raised eyebrow. It seemed like a habit, after only half an hour, but I clutched his hand as soon as it was held out to me, and was led through the side door in the kitchen. The garage was really nothing to look at, just normal garage stuff, but once he pushed me through the back door I was completely sold. I froze in my spot, not even having any words. I was staring at the most beautiful tree I’d ever seen. The backyard was mostly bare, save for the pool and the weeping willow. I could just barely feel the sting of tears behind my eyes as a myriad of memories assaulted me. Without words I moved forward, dragging Yoongi with me until I finally let go to sit on the swing that was already slowly swaying in the breeze.

My eyes closed of their own accord, my tears silently falling the second Yoongi began to gently push me from behind. “There’s a tree like this behind my family home. Oppa and I would spend hours playing in it, just like this.” I tried my very best to keep the pain out of my voice. I didn’t want to hurt whenever I thought of him. I wanted to be able to smile at the memories, not cry. “It was my fault, you know.” I don’t know what made the words come out, but I couldn’t stop them once they started. “He died because of me. He was driving recklessly because he wanted to save me from myself, and from the assholes that put me in such a dark place. He didn’t see the other car because he was thinking about me.” My voice was barely a whisper as the tears finally took over, preventing any more words.

I didn’t even feel the swing stop moving, but I felt it the second Yoongi knelt in front of me. I didn’t open my eyes, though. I couldn’t look at him. That wasn’t something I’d told anyone before. Not even Hobi. I’d just told him that my brother died in a car accident. “He’d be so proud of you.” I hadn’t been expecting such soft words from the male in front of me, and I blinked opened my eyes to stare at him. “No matter where you were then, you’re not there, now. He’d be so proud to see the person you’ve become.” Now there was no stopping as I flung myself off the swing, wrapping myself tightly around Yoongi. He didn’t say anything else, only stroked my hair as my tears fell silently onto his shoulder.

While we’d been in that position before, it somehow felt different. Somehow more intimate. I wasn’t sobbing like a fool or clinging to him for comfort. I was simply holding a man who’d said the most kind words I’d heard in a very long time while lamenting the loss of my older brother. 

After what seemed like hours I finally pulled away from Yoongi’s shoulder, sniffing lightly as I averted my gaze. For some reason that made the male chuckle, as he carefully brushed away my tears with the pads of his thumbs. “Hey guys, Hyung wants us to go shopping.” As if some magic heartstopping spell had been broken, I jumped away from Yoongi, my cheeks a deep red as I jogged over to Hoseok. 

It was awkward for all of three minutes in the car, until Hoseok attempted to sing whatever song was on the radio. I couldn’t help but laugh, and by the time we pulled into the parking lot for the market my ribs were killing me. I was a little confused when we didn’t get out of the car right away, but I understood when a white car pulled up right next to us. Jackson and Jaebum got out of the front seats, and that’s when we all got moving. 

At first it was a little strange. Besides Yoongi, I had the most problems with Jackson, since I wanted to staple his mouth shut every time he spoke and he actually had the balls to punch me back, but it didn’t take me long to get used to his whining. “Jin Hyung said you can bake, Noona. Is it true? Can you make me cookies? What about cupcakes? Oh! Could you make-”

“If you say one more word I’m going to stitch your lips shut with live wires.” I grumbled out the words as darkly as I could while pushing the cart full of groceries. The blonde instantly snapped his lips shut, and I heard a deep chuckle rumble behind me.

“We should’ve brought you into the circle sooner. Jackson never shuts up that fast.” This time it was Jaebum that spoke to me, but I was able to smile easily with him. We’d had a couple of classes together in the past, and had even been partners for a project. So I was already used to the tall male. He opened his mouth to say something else when he tensed up, instantly glaring down a figure to my left. My entire body tingled uncomfortably, and I subconsciously took a step closer to him. 

“Where’s your little fucktoy, Hyorin?” My fists instantly clenched at the deep voice, but I couldn’t look at him just yet. My gaze turned to Jaebum, a question in my eyes. Was he alone? Jaebum gave me a short nod, and I finally whipped my head towards my former friend, eyes narrowed. 

“What are you, twelve? This isn’t high school, Namjoon. Grow up.” I was furious, yes. Years of pent up anger towards the male were just begging to be released, but I wasn’t about to start a fight in the middle of a supermarket. That was just stupid. 

“Oh please. You’re still gonna deny it? We all saw you two sucking face today.” Okay. I had nothing to say to that. What had Yoongi even been thinking when he pulled that stunt earlier? I’d been far too scared to even ask.

“So? Do you actually think you have a say in who I choose to date? That’s absolutely hilarious.” I rolled my eyes, trying to calm my temper. Not to mention the butterflies in my stomach. Yoongi and I would definitely be having a talk later about the little stunt he pulled and my white lie to back it up.

“Is there a problem here?” I felt him before I heard him. That instant warmth that engulfed my entire back sent tingles down my spine, even more so than the dark tone in Yoongi’s voice. Without needing a prompt I stepped back so I was against his chest, and he didn’t hesitate to put a hand on my waist. I tried to keep the blush off of my face at the intimate contact while still sending a glare Namjoon’s way. “If there isn’t, you can fuck off now.” I could practically hear the sickly sweet smile on Yoongi’s face as he tugged me away from my former friend, Jaebum following along with the cart. “Don’t let him get to you, Noona.” He whispered the words before giving my side a squeeze, and I had to suppress the yelp that threatened to escape. I didn’t need anyone knowing that I was ticklish. I had a feeling that wouldn’t end very well.

Luckily we were able to make it back to the house in one piece, and without being tailed. Unfortunately, I was put to the task of starting dinner while the boys finished unpacking their rooms. At least I had Jin Hyung’s help...Kind of. He was more making sure my dog didn’t destroy anything while I attempted to cook. I was used to just making a simple meal of ramen for myself, but now it seemed that I had a hungry gaggle of boys to feed. I frantically rushed around the kitchen to make sure that nothing burned until Hoseok finally came back downstairs to take over dog duty so Hyung could help me properly. With his aid, I was able to produce a far-too-salty kimchi stew and some fried ham. It wasn’t much, but I was a baker. I could barely cook to to save my own life. 

“You’re making dinner from now on. Or you’re at least giving me time to study recipes _before_ I have to feed the hoard.” I grumbled to Hyung as I carried the pot of stew to the dining table. The male only laughed in response, too amused at my analogy to actually form a sentence. “If anyone dies just know that I wasn’t purposely trying to poison you.” I mumbled dejectedly as I plopped down at the table, where the others had already gathered. Even though Hoseok, Jaebum, Jackson, and Hyung were laughing like I’d just told the best joke, Yoongi could apparently see into my soul. I felt horrible for not being able to produce a proper meal for the males while they’d done so much for me, but I felt a little better when Yoongi gave my hand a squeeze under the table. I did my best to suppress the flush of my cheeks as I gave him the tiniest smile, pulling my hand away directly after since I didn’t want anyone getting suspicious of my change in demeanor. Even though I knew that my cooking was horrible, I still dug in like a woman starved. At least the ham wasn’t too bad. 

The meal only lasted a total of twenty minutes before the food was completely gone. Not even a scrap was wasted. Much to my surprise, Jaebum and Jackson volunteered to do the dishes so I could finally take some time to set up my room. I instantly enlisted the help of Hoseok, since Hyung and Yoongi were busy with their own rooms, and Hoseok was actually taller than I was. I would surely need some help moving the heavy boxes and putting up my curtains, and I didn’t want to bother Hyung more than I already had. Hobi seemed like the smart option at that point. 

With his help, I was able to get my clothes into the dressers, hang my curtains, and move the heavier boxes into my closet in less than two hours. “I’d love to stay and help you more, Noona, but I’m beat.” Hobi groaned from his current spot on my bed. He was sprawled out on his stomach, limbs splayed like a starfish, and I couldn’t help but laugh at him.

“I’m sorry I made you do so much, Hobi.” I chuckled out the words as I joined him on the bed. I figured it was time for a break anyways. Without warning I began running my hands over the sore muscles in the male’s back. He instantly melted at the touch, making a sound akin to a purr as I helped massage out the tension. 

“You know I don’t mind, right? Be it here, or wherever else. I don’t mind helping you. You’re my friend.” I couldn’t stop the smile on my face. It was a strange sensation coursing through my gut, but not unpleasant. It was quite nice to have friends who didn’t judge my past, and actually cared about my well being. Not to mention they didn’t force me to talk to one of the two people that brought my life crashing down in the span of a single night. 

“Thank you.” I let out the words in a soft whisper, trying to convey my gratitude through the massage instead. I was never really one for words.

“You should get some sleep, Noona. You have early classes tomorrow.” I groaned at the simple thought, pouting at Hoseok as he finally stood from my bed, stretching his limbs out. Instead of scolding me, as Jin would have for trying to tarnish my sleep schedule, he simply moved about my room, turning on the light we’d put on my dresser before tucking me in. I wasn’t going to bother with changing my clothes, since I was already in sweats, and somehow Hoseok automatically knew that as he ruffled my hair once I was safe under the covers. “If you need anything, don’t hesitate to wake one of us up, okay?” I nodded my head with a purse of my lips, slightly uncomfortable with barging into a dude’s room in the middle of the night. 

“Goodnight Hobi.” Was my reply instead, and the male gave me a kind smile as he moved to the door, flipping the lightswitch.

“Goodnight Noona.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank you all so much for reading! Please don't hesitate to leave me a comment and let me know what you think!


	6. Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first pinnacle.

I never expected to get such a good night sleep in a strange place, but here I was, being shaken awake by an obnoxious Jackson since I’d apparently slept through my alarm. “Jesus, fuck! Alright already, I’m up! Now get offa me, ya shit.” I grumbled the words, roughly shoving the boy off of my bed before rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. “Go be useful and make me some coffee. I’m gonna need it.” I groaned loudly as I climbed from the warmth under my comforter, instantly feeling the chill of the floor. It took me longer than I would have liked to find my slippers, but they somehow ended up underneath my bed. As soon as I felt the fuzzy ears of the rabbit heads I yanked them out and slid my feet into them before glancing at my clock. I was closer to the maths building, now, so I wouldn’t have to rush myself. Unless, of course, someone else had an early class. There was no possible way I was going to be left behind and get stuck walking by myself. That was just a disaster waiting to happen. Oh. Wait. I’m a complete idiot. I ended up rushing around the room anyways, pulling out an outfit to toss it onto my bed before I jogged down the stairs. Luckily for me nearly everyone was awake as I slid into the kitchen, my eyes landing on the tall man pouring himself a cup of coffee. “Jaebum! What time are you heading to class?” I heaved out the words, now completely out of breath from my mini rampage.

The male in question spun around with a raised eyebrow, holding back a laugh as he took in my appearance. “You’re fine, Hyorin. You still have plenty of time to get ready. We’re closer to the building over here, so we won’t be leaving for another half an hour or so.” This time he did laugh as I let out an audible sigh of relief before I plopped into a chair at the table. Without even looking to see who was next to me, I flopped onto the person to my right, leaning against their shoulder. I tried not to dwell on the fact that I was already acting so comfortable with all of these people.

“I feel ya, Noona.” Apparently it was Hoseok, since he wrapped an arm around me, allowing me to cuddle closer. “I could sleep all day given the choice.” I nodded against his warm chest, once again shivering at the chill in the air. It was nearly Summer, wasn’t it supposed to be warm by now?

I didn’t even realize that my eyes had closed until I heard the thud of a mug being placed on the table in front of me. I opened only one of them, giving Jaebum a smile of thanks seconds before Jin padded down the stairs. “Don’t get too comfortable, Hyorin-ah.” I groaned at the tone of his voice, peeling myself away from Hobi to hold out my hand for the pills I knew Jin was carrying. Much to my surprise, I only felt four of the six pills, and I finally sat up straight so I could raise my eyebrow at him. “You haven’t been well, lately. I took out the two that have nausea as a side effect.” I couldn’t stop the smile that tugged at my lips. He could be a hard ass at times, but Seokjin Hyung was way too sweet to be dealing with someone like me.

“Thanks, Hyung.” I managed to murmur before I downed the pills with a few gulps of my coffee, which was surprisingly made perfectly. “You remembered how I like my coffee? I’m impressed, Im Jaebum.” Though my tone was slightly snarky, I was grinning at the male across from me, who was beaming with pride.

“Well I only brought you a cup every day for a whole month when we were partnered in Literature.” His tone matched mine and I could only shrug before the two of us fell into fits of laughter.

“Why is it so loud?” The sudden grumble had my mouth snapping shut, my eyes going straight to the table since my coffee was now the most interesting thing in the room. “It’s too early. Classes are stupid. Can I just sleep the rest of the day?” The annoyed growling turned into a whiney pout, which threw the room into another fit of giggles.

We only calmed down when Jaebum checked his watch. “Shit. We’d better go get ready.” I glanced over to the stove, my eyes growing comically wide when I noticed the time. Without so much as an explanation I jumped out of my chair and sprinted all the way up the stairs until I was safely in my room. 

I got myself changed into the ripped jeans, black t-shirt, and hoodie in record time, and I even managed to braid my own hair by the time Jaebum knocked on my door. “Coming!” I took a last glance around the room to make sure I didn’t forget anything before I opened the door, tugging Jaebum down the stairs. 

“Jesus, Rin! I need that arm, yanno!” If I hadn’t been in such a hurry, the use of my old nickname probably would have sent a shiver down my spine, but I was more focused on tugging on my Doc Martens while Jaebum grabbed our bags. As mine was handed to me I slung it over my shoulder before grabbing my keychain from its designated hook by the door. “We’re off to class!” Jaebum barely had enough time to shout the words before I was dragging him along again.

It had me paranoid that my day was going so well. I hadn’t seen Namjoon nor Jimin, not even a glimpse of Taehyung. The most annoying thing was the strange looks I was getting since I had a constant escort to my classes. My paranoia paid off, though, since I was able to see the blonde rushing me before the others did while we were waiting for Jackson to finish his class. I hastily dropped the to-go cup of coffee in my hand to narrowly avoid a hand in my hair. “What the hell is your problem?!” I snapped at the girl who was taking her time getting back to her feet.

“Oh God not you again.” Hoseok’s bored tone had me on further alert. He only used that voice when he was ready for a fight. “Don’t you have anything better to do than follow us around all the time?”

“Don’t say that Oppa! You’re only saying those things because you have this low-life piece of freak trash shoved up your ass!” Her shrill screaming had a small crowd gathering. And while I had been feeling generous and wasn’t planning on breaking the poor little blonde, her comment had had my eye twitching.

“You wanna run that be me again?” My voice was dangerously low. So much so that Yoongi reached for my arm, though I roughly shook him off as I took a step forward. I could see her confidence wavering in her eyes, but the girl didn’t back down. She had balls, I’d give her that.

“Everything was just fine until you decided to start following Yoongi Oppa around like a lost little puppy!” Okay. That was _it_. My bag was tossed onto the ground in a second, and before anyone had the time to react my fist connected with the girl’s cheek. She went down like a sack of potatoes, an obnoxious sob tearing from her mouth.

“Oh please. Give me a break. No one’s gonna fall for your ‘poor me’ act. You look pathetic.” I snorted out the words just as Yoongi’s hand found my arm again, this time pulling me to his side. There was only one reason he’d do that with a crowd of people around us. I felt the fear flicker in my eyes for only a second before my leg was taken out from under me. The scabs on my knees pulled painfully, as did the hand on my arm as Yoongi tried to tug me to my feet, since this crazy chick was still clawing at my legs. “Oh my god will you grow some balls and fight like a human!” I growled out the words before I planted a kick to her face with my free leg, effectively releasing her grip on me. “You’re fucking crazy.” I spat out as soon as I was on my feet. 

“And you’re just someone’s leftovers.” The words had me freezing on the spot, my eyes wide for only a moment before they narrowed dangerously.

“What the fuck did you just say to me?” My voice started out low, but turned into a near feral scream as I repeated the question, fisting the collar of her jacket to haul the bitch to her feet. The boys seemed to notice the rapid escalation, since they were around me in an instant, trying to pry me off of her. “Let me go! Get the fuck off of me! Let me kill the psycho!” I shrieked as I fought their grip, until a pair of arms wrapped directly around my waist, and I found myself against a familiar chest.

“Let her go, Noona.” Just the simple tone of his voice had my grip loosening just the slightest bit, but it was enough for the boys to get me away from the girl and the crowd that had formed. Even though I was being pulled into the center of them, Yoongi’s arms never left me, and he continued to whisper to calm me down. “Listen to me. Just to me. Everything is fine now, Noona. You have to calm down.” With every phrase my body grew more and more lax until finally my fists unclenched and I slumped against him with a defeated sigh.

“I’m betting good money that _he_ told her just to get a rise out of you.” Hoseok piped up from my left. I barely registered that he’d picked up my bag until I watched him throw it over his own shoulder.

“Um..Guys? What did I miss?” Jackson’s voice had relief flooding over me as I sank against Yoongi even further.

“We’ll explain later. We need to get her home.” Ever the voice of reason, we all agreed with Hoseok as we made our way back to the house. Once again Jackson and Jaebum stayed a bit behind to make sure we weren’t followed, and they entered the house nearly fifteen minutes after the rest of us.

By that time I was sitting on the kitchen counter, my legs dangling over the edge and my pant legs rolled up while Yoongi spread medicine over the fresh and bleeding claw marks. “I’m glad you’re okay.” The sudden sounding of Yoongi’s voice startled me just enough for me to twitch, my gaze sliding over to his face. “She seemed seriously unstable. She could have really hurt you.” At least he had the common sense to know that I wasn’t lamenting over a few scratches. I’d had far worse and still laughed with blood pouring down my face. 

Honestly, I didn’t know what to say to that, so I stayed silent, not speaking until Jin flew into the house like he was being chased by a monster. He looked absolutely frantic, with his chest heaving, eyes wild, and leash dangling from his hand. Wait a second.. “Hyung?”

“Moo got off his leash! I’m so sorry!” My own eyes grew wide as I batted Yoongi’s hand away, since he’d already finished putting bandages on the wounds. 

“Get Hoseok. Moo likes him, too.” That was all I said before hopping off the counter, not even bothering with my shoes or keys as I took off down the street, shouting like a crazy person. This wasn’t right. Moo wouldn’t just run off like that, especially on Jin. He loved Hyung! Something wasn’t settling right with my gut as I sprinted down the street, trying to figure out where my little dog could have run off to.

Three hours later and there was still no sign of him. Or anyone else for that matter. The sun had begun to set and it seemed like the streets were completely deserted. There was only me, now limping down the sidewalk, shouting for my lost dog. 

“I was wondering how long it would take to get you alone. Is this what you’re looking for?” I felt my blood run ice cold as I slowly turned to the new voice, my eyes growing wide in horror when I saw my tiny dog dangling in [i]his[/i] hand. “It seems like you didn’t much like the present I sent you earlier, so I had to get...Creative.” I had to do something. _Anything_ , but I could barely take a breath let alone move. Not with the male standing so close to me. 

“What are you going to do? Hurt me? Worse? They’ll know it was you, Jungkook.” Even after finding my voice, my throat tightened just thinking of his name, so saying it proved difficult. 

“Of course not! Why ever would I do that? I just wanted to talk. You see. I had plenty of time to myself in prison. A lot of time with my thoughts. The therapist was a lot of help, too.” He laughed as if he’d told the most funny joke, and a chill ran down my spine. “He said I hurt the things I love the most, so you know what that means?” I wanted to throw up. I didn’t like where this was going one bit. “It _means_ -” He continued when he realized there was no way I was going to respond to him. “That I’m not too happy watching my girl cling to that piece of trash, Min Yoongi.” 

“I’m not your girl.” I wanted the words to come out strong, but since I was still holding in my urge to vomit they were croaked out. “I will _never_ be your girl.” My voice seemed a bit more steady, so I continued. “You _ruined_ me! Taehyung sent my parents the video you took, did you know that? They kicked me out of the house because they didn’t want a whore of a daughter, even if I hadn’t wanted any of it! I was barely nineteen, Jeon Jungkook! My brother _died_ because he didn’t want me to be alone in an apartment at that age. _You_ did this to me!” The more I spoke, the louder my words got, and the louder they got the harder tears of rage and frustration rolled down my face. “So no, you delusional _freak_. I am _not_ your girl.” 

He didn’t seem to like that, taking a step closer to me. He stopped, though, when he heard a distant shout down the road. The blood was roaring in my ears so I couldn’t tell who it was, but it was enough for the male to want to leave. “You will be. Even if I have to rip every limb off of his stupid little body. You will be” Were his final words before he set my dog on the ground, Moo running straight to my legs. 

I dropped down, completely ignoring the man of my nightmares to scoop up the canine, clutching him tightly to my chest. I didn’t even realize Jungkook had left until I felt a hand on my shoulder. I jumped like a woman burned, but it was only Jaebum’s face hovering over me. “He was here. He had Moo.” My words had calmed back down to a whisper, the gravity of the situation slowly beginning to sink in. 

“Come on, let’s get you out of the road. I already called the others to tell them where you were.” I nodded numbly, ignoring the burning pain on the soles of my feet as Jaebum led me to the curb. While we waited for the others he took the time to check me over, making sure I wasn’t hurt. Besides the claw marks from the psycho, only my feet were damaged. Scraped and bleeding from running on asphalt without shoes. 

While we waited, there wasn’t much the male could do without me freaking out. I don’t know if it was simply from _seeing_ the man who ruined my life, or if it were the memories at the sight of his face, but I flinched every time Jaebum tried to touch me. The poor thing looked so lost, not being able to attempt to give me comfort.

I was full out shuddering by the time a familiar head of hair came into my view, and without thinking I passed my dog over to my companion to stand. My legs were still unsteady, but I couldn’t stop myself when I saw Yoongi pick up his pace. I ran just as hard until I practically collided with him, clinging to him with every ounce of energy I had. “You’re okay. Thank God you’re okay.” I kept repeating the words, not fully understanding how much worry for the male I held in my little black heart. Who knew what Jungkook was capable of after all this time? He could have hurt Yoongi the very minute he ran away from Jaebum. 

I wasn’t the only one who’d been worried, though, since my face was instantly in Yoongi’s hands as he began to look me over for any sign of recent injury. “That was stupid. So, so stupid.” He kept muttering until I finally couldn’t take it anymore. I placed my hands over his, leaning forward to gently knock our foreheads together.

“I’m fine. I’m okay. He didn’t touch me. But-But Yoongi he was _right there._ And he had my dog.” My words came out as a pathetic whimper, and the male pulled me tight against his chest. “He called me… _His girl_.” I couldn’t stop a wave of nausea and shiver from rolling through me, and Yoongi only clung to me tighter. 

“You’re not. Do you hear me? You never will be. I won’t let that little freak get his hands on you.” I could have sobbed in relief, but for once I had no tears. There was just fear and pure rage flowing through me. It was enough that he ruined my life, but he _stole my dog_ and threatened Yoongi right to my face. “You think you’ll be up to explaining everything when we get back to the house?” I gave a shaky nod as Yoongi finally pulled away. Though that was the moment I remembered exactly _who_ we were to each other, and just how close we were. My cheeks were on fire in less than a second, and it seemed that Yoongi was in the same state.

“Her feet are messed up pretty badly. I’ve got Moo if you can carry Hyorin.” My flush only grew deeper at the sound of Jaebum’s voice, completely forgetting that he’d been there. Yoongi didn’t seem to mind the arrangement, though, since he instantly turned around and ordered me to climb onto his back. I did so without argument, knowing that if I didn’t do it voluntarily he’d just throw me over his shoulder or something.

The walk back to the house was filled with awkward silence. It was even so bad that I buried my head into the crook of Yoongi’s neck and pretended to sleep, just so I could ignore the world and hide my blush. However, it also allowed me to feel the way Yoongi’s pulse sped up every time I shifted.

Everyone went crazy the second we walked into the house. Jin was still blubbering like a baby until he saw Jaebum clutching Moo to his chest, the tiny dog yipping until he could run to the other male. Even though we were safe in the house, Yoongi refused to put me down, especially when he felt the way I tensed up when Hobi reached a hand out to me. “I’m gonna get her patched up, then we’ll talk.” He announced to the entire room, and I was more than grateful for him, though I was slightly panicked to have to even _think_ about Jungkook again. “He didn’t touch you?” He finally whispered when he got me onto the counter top, my feet dangling so he could check them out. They weren’t bleeding too badly, so he was satisfied with just wrapping them with gauze and a bandage just in case.

“N-No. He didn’t touch me. He just...Just talked.” Even though I was safe, I knew everyone would try their best to protect me, I couldn’t stop shaking. “Dear God he can get to me anywhere.” Yoongi instantly shook his head the very second the panic reared its head. He stood to his full height and stepped between my legs, hesitantly placing his hands on my arms. When I didn’t flinch he pulled me against his chest, holding me as if I were the most precious item.

“Not here, he can’t. Not while I’m around.” He took a moment of pause, and it almost sounded like his voice was caught in his throat. “I’m so sorry that I wasn’t there to protect you.” He sounded so broken that my lungs clenched, and I pulled back slightly to look up at him. I cupped his face in my hands ever so gently, shaking my head. “Don’t try and tell me it’s not my fault. I should have been there! I should have followed you instead of running the other way.” I couldn’t bear Yoongi looking down on himself, and I had to find _some_ way to shut him up. So I did. 

While he was mid-rant, reiterating everything he’d just said, I extended my back to press my lips against his. The sudden jolt I felt through my body had me moving away after a second, but it was enough to get the job done. Yoongi was speechless, his face as red as I felt. “You still came for me, Yoongi. You’re still _here_. That’s enough for me.” I didn’t want to fight it anymore, the strange feelings that had been growing around the younger male the last few days, and hearing Jungkook threaten him like that just sparked it further. I cared about him. Fiercely. 

“Hey kids, you ready?” Yoongi jumped back like he’d been burned, and I found my lap to be extremely interesting as Jin walked over to us. He’d stopped crying, but his cheeks were stained with dried tears. “You up for talking?” As he approached, he reached out, and my initial reaction was to flinch back, clutching the edge of the counter to keep myself grounded. I cursed my body since Hyung’s face fell like I’d just told him his cooking was horrible.

“H-Hyung. I’m so sorry. I just-” He shook his head, trying his best to put a smile on his face.

“It’s okay, Hyorin-ah. Take your time.” The tone of his voice broke my heart, and I dug my nails into the marble.

“Hyung, can you get me my chair before we start? I’m not sure if I can walk.” Yes, I hated the chair, but I knew if I stressed my injuries we’d be taking a trip to the hospital, and I didn’t want that. The male nodded, seemingly glad to get away from me, and I glanced up at Yoongi. He sensed my discomfort and rested a hand on my leg. I soaked up the warmth like a moth to a flame. “I feel horrible. I’m not-I’m not afraid of him, of any of them, but my body-” Yoongi cut me off by moving his thumb in soothing circles on my knee. 

“They’ll understand once we explain, okay? No one’s going to blame you, Noona.” For some reason his words only made me whimper, and he took a step closer to me. I wanted to reach out, to cling to him with everything I had to keep my mind from wandering, but the others began filing into the kitchen, as well as Hyung with my wheelchair. “Here, let me.” I shook my head. I needed to do this. To show them I wasn’t afraid of them. Fuck what my body had to say.

I gently pushed Yoongi aside, holding up my arms from Seokjin. “Hyung...Can you?” His face lit up at my words, but he still approached slowly, searching my face for any type of hesitation in my face. When he saw none he carefully lifted me from the counter to lower me into the chair. It took everything in my power to not flinch, but I still tensed up at the feeling of someone else's touch on me. I knew he was safe. All of the boys were safe, but my body only seemed comfortable with Yoongi. 

I instantly relaxed when Hyung’s hands were off of me, and Yoongi was wheeling me over to the table. Everyone was somber, even Hoseok who was always smiling. Hell, even Jackson was keeping his mouth shut. The thought just made me feel even worse. They were being so careful. They didn’t know if something could set me off or cause me to break down. They actually _cared_ that I was hurting. I hadn’t had people like that in my life in a very long time. “Can you explain what happened?” I nodded slowly to Hyung, reaching under the table to clutch Yoongi’s hand for support. He gave me a squeeze, and I began.

“He thinks she belongs to him.” Hoseok’s voice was dangerously low when I finished, and I felt myself flinch at it. Thankfully the male noticed and instantly changed his tone. “You know that’s not true, right? You will _never_ be his. Because you’re ours. And you can’t get rid of us no matter how hard you try.” His bright smile was back, and it made me feel the slightest bit better, but I was so drained I couldn’t return it. 

“Alright. That’s enough for today. The boys and I will figure something out. Yoongi, can you take her upstairs and put her to bed?” Obviously there was no hesitation from the male as he wheeled me out of the room after I said my goodnights.

“You were so strong. So brave to relive that fear. I’m so proud of you.” I gave him the softest smile as I lifted my arms. I could tell he was tired as well, since he had a little bit of difficulty carrying me up the stairs. He heaved out a heavy sigh the very second he dropped me onto the bed, and I could barely stifle my tired giggles as he hobbled around to find me something comfortable to wear. “Will you be okay?” I sucked in a breath, honestly not knowing the answer to that question. Would I? Only time could tell. I felt like a bomb just waiting for its timer to hit zero.

With the calm and the quiet of my room, with Yoongi hovering over me waiting for my answer I could feel the tears begin to pool in my eyes. It was too much. Everything was too much. “No.” I finally whispered out the word and within seconds I was pulled into the warmth and comfort of Yoongi’s chest. I sucked in a deep breath, trying to hold the tears back, but the hand smoothing down my hair only made them pour. My sobs were silent, thankfully, but I was too worn out to even hold him back. 

“Go change. I’ll be right here when you finish.” Finally, after God knew how long, Yoongi pulled away, using the pads of his thumbs to brush away stray tears. I nodded, and he pushed the pile of clothes into my arms. It took a moment to get my balance, but I wobbled into my adjoining bathroom as quickly as I could. 

As I changed, I couldn’t help but stare at myself in the mirror above the sink. I barely recognized myself. I’d spent years building up this image of the tough girl who preferred to talk with her fists, but the scared teenager who’d just went through the most horrifying experience of her life was staring back at me. I held my own gaze for a few more seconds before tearing my eyes away. I didn’t want to look at that. Didn’t want to see that. I didn’t want to be that person anymore.

With a heavy sigh I peeled off my clothes from the day, grimacing when my pants scraped against the multitude bandages on my legs. Thankfully Yoongi had chosen me some loose sweatpants and an oversized t-shirt, so the pain was minimal as I left the bathroom.

True to his word, Yoongi was in the room, though it seemed as if he’d gone and changed his own clothes. Even with the time we’d been spending together I’d never seen him look so casual. He was lying on my bed, with his back against the headboard, in a black muscle shirt and matching basketball shorts. I actually had to remember how to breathe, because the sight was undeniably attractive. Of course, he had to choose that moment to glance up at me, and I felt my cheeks heating up as I dumped my clothes into the basket and joined him on the bed.

Yoongi took his time in lifting the blankets, making sure I was comfortable and snuggled in before he joined me. He was hesitant, but then again so was I. Did either of us really know what was going on? He was only supposed to be acting as a protector of sorts, but it had already gone so far beyond that. He was the only one I truly felt safe with, and I cared. Dear _God_ did I care. “Come here.” His whisper snapped me out of my thoughts, and I felt my cheeks heat up before I scooted closer. He’d held his arm out, allowing me to get closer before it came around me, locking me in place. The entire situation felt so _right_ , and I let out a content sigh as I nuzzled against him. One arm draped over his stomach while the other remained tucked tightly against my side, my fist coming up under my chin. 

For a long time I just laid in the silence, unable to sleep. The fear was overwhelming. I knew what I would see the very second I closed my eyes. Jungkook’s face would be there and I would have to relive my nightmare all over again. I hadn’t known he was still awake as well, until I felt a hand under my chin. My face was tilted back so Yoongi could properly look at me, and his eyes sent a shiver down my spine. Apparently he liked that reaction, since he searched for only a moment before bending down to press his lips against mine. The same shock from before was still there, but this time I didn’t pull away. My hand gripped tighter on the flesh of his side and I craned my neck a bit more for a better angle. I could feel the tension in his muscles, like he was trying to figure it all out himself while not freaking me out.

The hand under my chin moved to cup the side of my face as Yoongi finally pulled away, pressing our foreheads together. “This is insane.” He breathed out with a laugh, and I gave my own chuckle in return, completely agreeing. “But I don’t care. It doesn’t matter. When I found you. When I saw the fear in your eyes. Fuck, Hyorin. He could have hurt you. He could have taken you away from me. I couldn’t- I can’t- _God dammit_ this just feels right.” He was conflicted, if his stuttering rant proved anything, which I found comfort in. I shouldn’t be lying in bed with someone whom I’ve hated for years. I shouldn’t be comforted by their touch or just their voice, but here I was. I nodded against him, and he gave another quiet laugh before pressing a quick, chaste kiss to my lips. “Sleep. I’ll be here to keep away the nightmares.” 

Shit. Why was he so fucking perfect? I nodded again before wiggling back into my previous position, though the hand against my side shifted just a bit. Hesitantly I moved so my fingers just brushed against his, my eyes locked to the side of his face to gauge his reaction. Instead of the hesitation there was only a smile, barely there, but noticeable. He shifted, himself, so he had more of a reach with the arm around me, his hand claiming mine by locking our fingers together. “He threatened you, Yoongi.” I finally spoke as soon as we’d gotten comfortable. “He said he would hurt you and that scared me more than anything he could ever do to me.” I don’t know why I was admitting it, but the fluttering in my stomach told me that I had to get it out in the open before it was too late. 

Without commenting on my words, Yoongi only gave me a tight squeeze before pressing his lips to the crown of my head. “Sleep.” Feeling perfectly content for the first time all day. I did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 84 hits already?! Thank you guys so much :3. It always brings a smile to my face watching the numbers go up! Also thank you to all the bookmarkers! I'm so pleased that you're enjoying the story so far! Don't forget to comment to let me know what you think!


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